YuGiOh! Duel Monsters Replay
by meninwhite
Summary: The story takes place after the Pharaoh returns to the ancinet world,now its Yugi Mouto's turn to shine.
1. The Beginning From An End

Episode 1 - The Beginning From An End

The place, Domino City, Japan. A large city, almost the likes of Tokyo, New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, or Chicago. People moving about in their lives. The Town Square, the Aquarium, the Business District, everywhere, people coming and going. Right now, the center of focus was Domino High School. Just like any other high school in Japan, really. Except for the fact that one of its' students, a young man whose hair was spikey, from the back of his head and around. His hair also had all sorts of colors. Magneta-like red around the spikey parts, black on the inside, and yellow bangs.

This young man, 16 in age, had purple eyes, and he also had the uniform of a Domino High School student. He just had on a blue coat like some students in Japanese schools had, and underneath it, a white shirt, buttoned up. And to go with it, blue pants and some slippers.as usually worn in the classroom. This young man was Yugi Mutoh, otherwise known as the King of Duelists.

Years ago, Yugi's grandfather, Solomon, had been known as an adventurer, a gambler, and an archaeologist. He had travelled to Egypt, and found a mysterious tomb, which housed a unique golden box with an eye on it. What Solomon didn't know at the time, was that this box held a puzzle. After that, Yugi, when he was 7 years old, was given the Puzzle. Being a boy who enjoyed games, Yugi began to work on the Millennium Puzzle. It took him until he was 15 years old to complete it. The day Yugi would complete it changed his life. He had not had many friends at first. Until that day.

That day, Yugi was telling Téa Gardner, a brunette young woman about Yugi's age, about the Millennium Puzzle and what it meant to him. But at the same time, he was bullied by Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor, who had a reputation around Domino High for being toughs, and bullies, and Joey had taken the last piece of the Millennium Puzzle, and threw it into the school's swimming pool. However, Demetrius Ushio, formerly part of Domino High's student council, had tried to embezzle Yugi out of money by acting as his bodyguard. He nearly killed Joey and Tristan until Yugi stood up to him, surprising both Joey and Tristan. Yugi then was given back the final piece of the Millennium Puzzle he needed.. thanks to an anonymous friend, whom Yugi knew was Joey. 

When he completed the Puzzle, Yugi had experienced moments where he slipped away. These moments, a spirit within the Millennium Puzzle would take over Yugi's body at times. Yugi didn't know it, but this other Yugi, known in truth as Pharaoh Atem, once lived 3,000 years ago and rid the world of the dark powers of the God of Evil, Zork. Zork himself threatened the world with the power of the Shadow Games, in which creatures from stone tablets known as Weiju, or Ka, and creatures in people's hearts and minds within darkness, or Ba, threatened the world. Atem sealed himself away into the Millennium Puzzle along with the darkness Zork represented, and a small bit of Zork. Zork, however, would survive... and their conflict would end 3000 years later. And it would come to include a game known as Duel Monsters.

But there was more Yugi would learn about Atem. Atem had no memory of his past achievements or his life as a Pharaoh. It wasn't until Battle City occured that he would learn of what he had to do. Atem's search had him search out the 3 Egyptian God Cards, Osiris, Obelisk, and Ra. In the end, he achieved them but lost them when he battled a group known as Doma. Doma had taken the God Cards, and set a plan into motion to reset history by cleansing the world. Atem fought hard, along with Joey, and his first real rival in the game of Duel Monsters, Seto Kaiba, but he had to learn of his own darkness, and also did what he had done 3000 years ago, shouldering the darkness.

Finally, the journey came to end. Atem learned that Bakura, a friend to Yugi, who possessed the Millennium Ring, had been controlled by his darker side, who in reality was Zork, wishing to conclude his battle with Atem in the ultimate Shadow Game, which if Zork had won, would have brought the world into shadows. Luckily, Atem won. Soon, after his memories returned and Zork was gone, Atem and Yugi, along with their friends, learned of the Ceremonial Battle at the location in which the Millennium Puzzle, Ring, and the other 5 Millennium Items were created, where Atem's fate would be decided.In the end, Yugi battled with Atem, and defeated him, thus sending him back to the afterlife.

It was now a little over a month after Yugi's victory over Atem, and he was just living life day to day, still missing him, but becoming strong for himself. Soon, the bell for class rang as Yugi got up, gathering his things until he heard someone say "Hey, Yugi!"

Yugi turned around and saw Joey, his messy blonde-haired, brown eyed best friend, having called his name. Joey smiled and said "What's the hurry, big guy? I mean, we still got another 2 periods to go through."  
"Sorry, Joey, I can't! I gotta go pick up my cousin from the Train Station. He's coming in from Tokyo, and I told Mom and Grandpa I'd go get him. It's been about... ohhhhh, I'd say 6 years since I last saw him."  
"Well, why not let us all go with you, Yugi?" A female voice said. Yugi and Joey turned to see Téa, who had short cut brunette hair, blue eyes, and a female school uniform, which had a pink buttoned up shirt with white around the colors and sleeves, a blue bow around the neck softly, and a similar colored pleated skirt.

She smiled as Yugi said "Well, Téa, I might want you guys to go with me, I just didn't want you to get into trouble. I mean, all I was gonna do was get my cousin, bring him by the school so he can register here at Domino High, and that's it. I even talked with the principal and my teachers about it."  
"Wellll, I think that all of us going with you wouldn't be too bad. 'Sides, it's not that far from here, so rushing over there and getting him and coming back wouldn't be a problem."  
"Yeah, man! And 'sides, it's not like it wouldn't hurt to have your cousin meet your best friends." Joey added, giving a thumbs up.

Yugi nodded and said "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it. We better book it!" Yugi rushed out the door, his friends following right behind. As they ran out of the front gate of Domino High, someone was watching from the side of the gate. This person had dark purple hair, a cigarette in his mouth, a black duster, a black shirt under it, and a pair of dark grey jeans and boots. The man smirked and said "That's the Duelist King? Feh... no problem."

Yugi and his friends soon made it to the Domino City Train Station, waiting for Taro. Joey then said "Hey, Yugi, how the heck are we gonna know what Taro looks like?"  
"Aw, don't worry, Joey. He'll know it's me, and I'll notice it's him." Yugi replied, smiling. He then blinked, noticing a kid about 15 or so, at 5' 1", with the same spikey kind of hair Yugi had, only his was dark brown, and he also had a dark red shirt, with an orange belt around his waist and blue jeans with white and black sneakers, as well as a red backpack and a rolling lugagge bag as he turned, then saw Yugi and shouted "Yugi!" The young man came running up, grinning as he said "What's up?"

"Hey, Taro!" Yugi replied as they slapped hands and Taro grinned brightly, then blinked when he looked at Yugi's friends. He then waved. "Yo! I'm Kentaro Mutoh, but you don't get to call me that. Just Taro, OK?"  
The others all nodded as Tristan said "Nice to meetcha, Taro. I'm Tristan."  
Taro gabbed Tristan's hand and shook it rapidly in his own two hands. "Dude! 's a honor to meetcha!" He then stopped himself and looked at Téa, walked up and took her left hand, then kissed it as he said "And who is this lovely young lady?"  
Téa giggled a bit and said "Well, I'm Téa, Taro. I'm surprised you don't remember me. Yugi has had me over before when you visited."  
"Oh, right! Ehehehe.. sorry, it's just that you've grown A LOT since then!" Taro replied. Joey scratched his head then said "Yugi, are you sure this guy REALLY is your cousin?"  
"Super positive, Joey. Taro and I, whenever we were around each other, were like brothers!"  
"Yeah, well, I mean, he seems like he's everything you're not, dude." Suddenly, a right fist hit Joey in the cheek as he slammed to the ground with a thud.

Taro then said "Don't make fun of my family like that, buddy boy! That's what makes me a lot different from Yugi! He may try to use words, but me, I think the direct approach is always the best way to go when dealing with morons like you."  
Joey sat up and shook his head rapidly as he then got up and put his face right into Taro's and said "What was that for?"  
"I told you, you make fun of my family, you gotta pay in blood!" Taro added. Yugi stepped forward and said "C'mon, guys, let's not fight! I mean, we just got here and..."  
Yugi stopped himself for a moment and turned carefully, having felt something, but got nothing. He shrugged it off then got between his friend and his cousin so they wouldn't argue. But he found it harder to do than he thought.

A bit later, back at Yugi's house, he and Taro were getting situated as Taro said "Man, Yugi, you sure seem like you've done well for yourself!"  
"I guess so, Taro. But... I don't feel like I myself earned the accolades of things like King of Duelists, ya know?"  
"Whaddya mean? Ya referring to those times when you look like a whole new person and act like one?" Taro replied, scratching his head.  
"Hey, how did...?"  
"Dude, I've seen you on TV when you've Dueled and after it! How'd it happen? Wait, wait, wait! Lemme guess... the Millennium Puzzle did it!"

Yugi blinked in surprise as Taro flopped down onto his futon, grinning, legs crossed Indian-style, hands on his knees as he said "Who was that if it wasn't you, dude?"  
Knowing Taro had already asked, Yugi did the noble thing and explained the whole situation, about Atem, and what occured during his time with him. Intently listening, Taro nodded as Yugi continued to explain until finally "...And that's how it ended. I defeated Atem, and he disappeared into the light. And with him, the Millennium Items' task was complete, and they disappeared from the Earth as well."

"Dude... that is some crazy stuff! Do Auntie Suki and Grandpa know about this stuff!"  
"Grandpa was there for the final Duel. But Mom... I dunno how she'd take it if she knew I'd lost my soul and nearly lost my life on several ocassions, Taro. I mean, you handled it a little better than most people might have."

"Hey, Yugi... I grew up in Tokyo, man, and there is some crazy crap that occurs there quite a bit! So, trust me, I've seen alot o' weird stuff in my time, even if I am 2 years younger than you. But... you would tell your mom if you needed to.. right? I mean, she's gotta have a right to know that, man. But it's my opinion. You feel free to make the call however you please, man."  
Yugi nodded a bit. "Yeah... yeah." Yugi looked down some as Taro then said "Well, I'm gonna go downstairs, see if your mom and Grandpa need some help with dinner, dude."

Taro stepped out of Yugi's bedroom, closing the door behind him. Yugi sighed some and said "Mom shouldn't need to worry about me anymore than she does sometimes. I can't tell her. I shouldn't." He then turned to his box, the same box he kept the Millennium Puzzle in and frowned some as he thought 'Atem... this is so tough for me... to not have you here. I don't feel I can be strong enough... but I'll try. I...' He then heard a crash downstairs and ran out of his room, racing down to the kitchen to see one of the dishes broken on the floor, the window open, and Taro, his grandpa, and his mom, all gone! Yugi also noticed a piece of paper on the floor and picked it up, reading it. All it said was "Come. Construction Site. Bring your Deck."

He knew that something was going on, but didn't know WHAT exactly. So, he raced back to his room, grabbed his Deck, and his Duel Disk, exhaled as he slapped his Deck inside of his Duel Disk and rushed out to the Construction Site. Once outside, Yugi headed north, because it was a 10 minute walk or so, but since he was running, 5 minutes was the most he'd take to get there.

At the Construction Site itself, Taro charged into a gated door that had him, Yugi's young looking mother, who had short magenta hair, a white shirt, and a long dark blue skirt, as well as his grandfather, who had grey hair and a matching beard, as well as a black bandana with two symbols that somewhat were close to infinity symbols, as well as green overalls and a white shirt under it as he said "Taro..."

"Hey, I gotta at least try to get us outta here, Grandpa! I know Yugi will show up, but I mean, gotta try something! Beats sitting here and waiting! I don't even get why this guy wanted to get us in the first place just to get to Yugi!" Taro replied, kicking at the door. A man who had dark purple hair, a cigarette in his mouth, a black duster, a black shirt under it, and a pair of dark grey jeans and boots appeared near the cage and shook his head. "Moron. You won't break out, until Yugi Mutoh shows. And I know he will show up." The man had a Duel Disk on also as he then smiled as he heard an elevator. "Well, well, well... he's here." He stepped forward, smiling as Yugi stepped out of the elevator to see his family.

He looked in shock and said "Mom! Grandpa! Taro!"  
All at once, Suki, Solomon, and Taro all said "Yugi!"  
"Good. You did come. I thought you would do so... King of Duelists. Heh. You're a lot shorter than you are on TV... I guess that means it's true that TV adds on a few inches and a few pounds."

Yugi glared at that man and said "Who are you? And why'd you kidnap my family!"  
"My name is Senbei Nakamura. And I am a Card Hunter. You see, we target Duelists who have cards that serve our goal to making the most powerful Decks in the world, as well as controlling the game of Duel Monsters itself. You may think that we're like the GHOULs, but we're better than those fools, because we see the potential of all cards... not just rare ones. We copy them too, but we do it with more finesse. We also attempt to change the face of the game, by making dangerous but exciting scenarios... but this information will not help you. All I was asked to do was beat you... then take your Deck."

"That's not gonna happen! I'll make sure you're beaten right here and now, Senbei!" Yugi said. Senbei had his arms crossed, eyes closed as he smiled. "Well, well, confident, aren't we? Overconfidence is the signs of a large ego, and too much pride, Yugi. And I have seen some of your Duels and I know that you have had a lot of confidence..."  
"You're referring to someone else who isn't of this world anymore, Senbei... you're up against the real me." Yugi replied as he got his Duel Disk on the ready. Senbei smiled as he did the same. "Well, well.. then show me the real you and your skills."

"Before we begin, how much Life Points will we both be receiving?" Yugi asked.  
"8000. Which has become a new standard for the game in some circles. I hope twice the regular amount of Life Points is no problem for someone of your skills..."  
"Of course not!" Yugi replied as both he and Senbei had 5 cards, and at the same time, they said "Duel!"

"My turn! Draw!" Yugi drew his sixth card, having the limit of cards he could have in his hand as he examined his hand. He looked carefully then said "Alright, here I go! I summon Giant Rat in Attack Mode!"

With the Monster Card placed onto his Duel Disk's Monster Card Zone which was placed in front, a greyish rat that held a human skull in its' left paw, with orange eyes and an orange tail appeared onto the Field, snarling some. Yugi had recently added Giant Rat to his Deck, because he had plenty of cards to make good use of its' effect.

GIANT RAT  
Earth/Beast/4/1400 ATK/1450 DEF  
Effect: When this card is sent to the Graveyard as a result of Battle, you may select 1 EARTH Attribute Monster with an ATK of 1500 points or less from your Deck and Special Summon it to the Field in face-up Attack Mode (no Sacrifice is required for Monsters of Level 5 or more). Your Deck is then shuffled.

"I'll next set a card face-down to end my turn with just my 4 cards left."  
"Heh. Impressive strategy so far, I am sure. My turn! Draw!" Senbei drew his next card and smiled as he said "I will set one Monster face-down, then also set one Magic or Trap Card face-down. Turn... end!"

Senbei smiled as he thought 'Fool. Even if he does attempt an attack, my card is all set to make sure my plan to get a stronger Monster than any he has succeeded without a hitch. And if he attacks and has something to counter my card, his Monster will be weakened by my lovely Newt.'

NEWT (English name: Slate Warrior)  
Wind/Demon (Fiend in English)/4/1900 ATK/400 DEF  
Effect: Flip: Increase the ATK and DEF of this card by 500 points. Any Monster that destroys this card must decrease its' ATK and DEF by 500 points.

"Alright... my turn! Draw!" Yugi drew his next card and then said "Giant Rat, attack Senbei's set Monster!" Giant Rat charged right at Senbei's set Monster snarling as it leapt up and about to slam its' tail on it when Senbei said "Trap Card, activate! Negate Attack!"  
Suddenly, a spiraling swirl of some kind appeared, blocking Giant Rat's attack, then caused it to skid back to Yugi's side of the Field.

"As you may know, Negate Attack is a card that only works when you attack with a Monster, all attacks are negated, and your Battle Phase is over!" Senbei said, smiling.

NEGATE ATTACK  
Counter Trap Card (Quickplay Magic Card in the animé)  
Effect: When your opponent attacks with a Monster, all attacks are negated and your opponent's Battle Phase ends.

"Not bad. But now... I'll reveal my own set Trap Card! Ultimate Offering!"  
Yugi's Trap Card flipped up, showing an image of a large green monster being seperated by a blood red monster from its' head as he smiled.

ULTIMATE OFFERING  
Continuous Trap Card  
Effect: At the cost of 500 Life Points per Monster, you are allowed an extra Normal Summon or Set.

"Next, I will set a card face-down, then I will play my Magic Card, Book of Moon!"  
Giant Rat began to glow as it disappeared, with a face-down Monster Card now appearing where Giant Rat was before. Yugi knew at least now his LP was safe due to Giant Rat's being in face-down Defense Mode.

BOOK OF MOON  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: Flip 1 face-up Monster on the Field into face-down Defense Mode.

"Turn end!"  
Senbei looked on. 'I wonder why he played Ultimate Offering. Unless he has something up his sleeve. He has only 3 cards... so he can't be that dangerous of a threat.'  
"My turn!" Senbei drew his next card and said "Now... I will flip up my face-down Monster! Come to life, Newt!  
With that said a blue skinned kind of newt with yellow eyes and a red dot in the center of its' forehead took to Senbei's side of the Field, with a yellow chest plate with red markings on it, its' mid-section revealed also, with a yellow set of round armor around its' waist, red pants, yellow boots, green sleeves with a red line around the wrist, its' fists clenched. But not only that, Newt's normal stats of 1900 ATK and 400 DEF were upped by 500 points due to its' Flip Effect to 2400 ATK, 900 DEF.

Senbei added "I am not done yet! Next up, I play Fairy Meteor Crush, equipping it onto my Newt!"  
Newt's body began to glow as Yugi knew he might lose some LP on that transaction... due to Fairy Meteor Crush's effect.

FAIRY METEOR CRUSH  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: When a Monster equipped with this card attacks with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of one of your opponent's Defense Mode Monsters (face-up or face-down), inflict the difference as damage to your opponent's Life Points.

"Newt, attack Yugi's face-down Giant Rat and crush the vermin!" Newt charged as Senbei ordered the attack. It thrusted its' right fist downward, smashing Yugi's Giant Rat, which screeched out in agony as it was destroyed! Yugi then saw a small burst of energy come forth and hit him as he cried out, his LP reduced by 950 points to 7050.

Taro looked on. "Whoa! This guy is good! He managed to weaken Yugi's LP just a bit, but still..."

Yugi then said "Alright, but since you destroyed Giant Rat in battle, I get to use its' effect!" Yugi pulled his Deck out, beginning to examine it carefully as he smiled, getting his Monster of choice, Green Gadget. He then said "With Giant Rat's effect, I Special Summon Green Gadget!"

With that said, a robot with small hands and feet, silver legs and a gear like body in the center, with green in the center of the gear, as well as a head on the top with a red eye, and green shoulders with silver cogs appeared on Yugi's Field, its' body glowing red a bit.

GREEN GADGET  
Earth/Machine/4/1400 ATK/600 DEF  
Effect: When this card has been successfully Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, you may search your Deck for 1 "Red Gadget" and add it to your hand.

"And with Green Gadget's effect I get to add a Red Gadget from my Deck to my hand!" Yugi pulled his Deck out then searched for a Red Gadget, then added it to his hand, smiling as he said "And now I will pay 500 Life Points to use Ultimate Offering's effect, and make a Normal Summon!"

Yugi's Life Points dropped from 7050 to 6550 as he said "I will now Normal Summon Red Gadget in Attack Mode!"  
Red Gadget materialized near Green Gadget, its' body red on its' feet, hands, part of its' wrists, and its' upper body and lower body, its' head was rounded out, with black and silver eyes, silver eyes and legs, a gear on its' back and gears on its' wrists, its' arms at its' sides.

RED GADGET  
Earth/Machine/4/1300 ATK/1500 DEF  
Effect: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, you may search your Deck for 1 "Yellow Gadget" and add it to your hand.

Yugi pulled his Deck out then grabbed his Yellow Gadget and added it to his hand. He now had one last thing to do. "I will pay another 500 LP and make the last Gadget be known... Normal Summon Yellow Gadget!"

With that, the final Gadget in Yugi's Deck materialized, with its' yellow body, silver gears on its' shoulders and lower body, with similar colored arms and legs, and a green eye in the center of its' face. Yugi's combo was now made complete.

YELLOW GADGET  
Earth/Machine/4/1200 ATK/1200 DEF  
Effect: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, you may search your Deck for 1 "Green Gadget" and add it to your hand.

Now, Yugi's LP was at 6050, but he had 3 Monsters on the Field as Senbei said "Damn you... you managed to get 3 Monsters out at once!"  
"That's the power of my Gadgets! They unite to pull one another out! And they're not gonna be alone for much longer, Senbei! I activate my set Trap Card, Mobile Fortress Stronghold!"  
Appearing behind Yugi was a gigantic robot with a white body, large arms and legs, and in the center of its' chest were 3 circles... one with a green "G", another with a yellow "Y", and a red "R". Stronghold then knelt down, arms at its' sides.

MOBILE FORTRESS STRONGHOLD  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: After this card is activated, it becomes a Monster Card (Earth Attribute/Machine-Type/Level 4/0 ATK/2000 DEF) and Special Summoned in Defense Mode. If "Green Gadget", "Yellow Gadget", and "Red Gadget" are all face-up on your side of the Field, the ATK of this card becomes 3000 points (this card is still treated as a Trap Card).

Senbei chuckled as he then said "Very well... I'll just set a card down and end my turn."

Yugi nodded and said "My turn! Draw!" He drew his next card and then said "Next... I will turn Stronghold to Attack Mode!" Yugi knew Stronghold's card was now considered a Monster Card, so he just simply shifted it to Attack Mode, with his Gadgets all on the Field on the Field as well, Stronghold's ATK raised from 0 to 3000 points! The slots with the colored letters R, G, and Y opened as Yugi's Gadgets shot into the air and slammed into their respective positions, Green Gadget where the green G was, Red Gadget where the red R was, and Yellow Gadget where the yellow Y was as Yugi said "Stronghold, attack Newt! Steel Gear Crush!"

Stronghold pulled its' fist back and thrusted it downward, smashing Newt into nothing, dropping Senbei's LP by 600 points, as Senbei cried out, some parts of Newt flying past him. Yugi then said "Even if Stronghold's ATK drops by 500 points to 2500, and its' DEF dropped to 1500 due to Newt's effect, Senbei, you still lose 600 LP and so your LP drops to 7400! Now... time to do some more damage! Gadgets, Direct Attack, Triple Gadget Strike!"

All 3 of Yugi's Gadgets shot out, charging at Senbei, all 3 punching him, dropping his LP by 3900 to 3500! Senbei groaned and said "So... this is the true talent you have, huh...? Good..."  
Yugi then said "Well, I can't do much else, so I will set one card down and end my turn!"

Senbei chuckled, drawing his next card as he smiled. "Fool. Set card, activate! CALL OF THE HAUNTED!"  
Suddenly, a series of headstones appeared onto the Field as Taro said "Not good! He gets to now Special Summon a Monster from his Graveyard in Attack Mode!"  
"That's not good... it's like his whole Deck emphasizes on power..." Solomon added.  
"Sure feels like Beatdown to me too, Grandpa! And I'm sure he's got more in wait there than just Newt!" Taro added as he, his aunt and his grandpa watched the Duel intently.

CALL OF THE HAUNTED  
Continuous Trap Card  
Effect: Select 1 Monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon it in face-up Attack Mode. When this card is destroyed or removed from the Field, the summoned Monster is destroyed. If the Summoned Monster is destroyed, this card is also destroyed.

Soon enough, Newt rose out of the Earth, as a mist covered the Field, which had Yugi worried. Senbei then smiled as he said "Next I will play Cost Down, discarding a card from my hand to reduce the Levels of all my Monsters by 2! And so... to follow up... I will Normal Summon The Dark Ruler, Hades!"  
With that, a demon with green skin, his hands and face only visible, his eyes red, a brown beard, and celtic-esque armor, with orange and yellow horns, holding a glass of red wine appeared on the Field. The robes were of purple and gold with a face on the upper portion near the next, as well as a skull-like shape under that, with red eyes as well... and then Senbei smiled.

THE DARK RULER HADES  
Dark/Demon/6/2450 ATK/1600 DEF  
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the Field, negate the effects of Effect Monsters destroyed by Demon-Type Monsters on your side of the Field in Battle. This card cannot be Special Summoned from the Graveyard.

Senbei then said "Newt, attack Green Gadget!" Newt leapt forward, punching Green Gadget right as it sat in Stronghold, blowing it up and dropping Stronghold's ATK to 0... and Yugi's LP to 5550. Senbei then added "Hades, destroy Stronghold!" 

Hades sipped some of his wine then shot a stream of fire out, blowing Stronghold up to nothing, and sending Yellow Gadget and Red Gadget back down to the ground, Yugi's LP drop to 3100, 400 points lower than Senbei's as Senbei said "As you can see, your Deck seems to be a Deck of Glass if you forget of Stronghold's effect only kicking in if all 3 Gadgets are in play. So now, I set a card down and end my turn."

Yugi nodded as he said "My... turn..." He was about to drop, then stopped when he felt something... something from his Deck.  
"Huh?" Yugi replied, blinking as he drew his next card, and then saw Horus the Black Flame Dragon Level 4, one of his new additions. He wondered if Horus was what he felt.

HORUS THE BLACK FLAME DRAGON LV 4  
Fire/Dragon/4/1600 ATK/1000 DEF  
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the Field, control of this card cannot be switched. During the End Phase of a turn that this card destroyed a Monster as a result of Battle, send this card to the Graveyard to Special Summon 1 "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6" from your hand or Deck.

He looked at the rest of his hand and nodded as he took a card and said "I play the Magic Card, Coins from Heaven! With this, both of us get to draw til we have 6 cards in our hands!"  
Senbei nodded, drawing his 3 cards, as Yugi drew 3 also. He smiled as he saw another card that could help him... Hane Kuriboh.

HANE KURIBOH (English Name: Winged Kuriboh)  
Light/Angel/1/300 ATK/200 DEF  
Effect: When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, all damage done to your Life Points this turn is reduced to 0 until the End Phase of the turn.

Yugi nodded also as he said "I will summon Hane Kuriboh in Defense Mode!"  
With that, a small brown furry creature with brown fur, yellow eyes with blue pupils, green hands and feet with yellow claws and white wings appeared onto Yugi's side of the Field as he said "And now I will just turn Yellow Gadget and Red Gadget to Defense Mode! Turn end!"

Yugi knew once he had what he needed to get, he'd let Horus out, since he felt that is what he felt from his Deck and then said "Your move, Senbei."  
"A fuzzy Angel is your last resort? Heh! You must be desperate, Yugi! Very well! My turn!" Senbei drew his next card, one sliding out of his Graveyard and into his hand as he smiled and said "Now, I Normal Summon Sinister Serpent in Attack Mode!"

SINISTER SERPENT  
Water/Reptile/1/300 ATK/250 DEF  
Effect: If a "Sinister Serpent" exists in your Graveyard during your Standby Phase, you can add that "Sinister Serpent" to your hand.

With that summon made, a green serpent with a soft yellow underbelly and green wings with yellow feathers appeared as Senbei said "But! I won't end there! I now play my set Trap Card, Meteorain!"

METEORAIN  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: During this turn, when your Monsters attack with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of your opponent's Defense Mode Monsters, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points.

Senbei then said "Sinister Serpent, destroy Hane Kuriboh!"  
With the command made, Sinister Serpent charged, ramming into Hane Kuriboh, as it cried out "Kuri!" And then exploded, sparkling dust all over the Field as Yugi looked on and Senbei said "Hades, destroy Yellow Gadget, and Newt, you get Red Gadget!"

Senbei's Monsters charged, attacking Yugi's Monsters, destroying them as Senbei said "And that's game...!"  
"No. Not at all." Yugi said, smiling, his LP still at 3100.  
"What? How come your Life Points aren't at 0!"  
"Simple." Yugi said, holding up Hane Kuriboh's card. "Hane Kuriboh's effect. When it's destroyed as a result of Battle, all damage I receive this turn is reduced to 0. So you were pointless in playing Meteorain."

"Blast... alright, I end my turn for now!"  
"Good... 'cause it's my turn!" Yugi added, drawing a card. He then said "Now... I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in Attack Mode!"  
With the summon made, a small silver colored robotic-like falcon-like creature with red eyes appeared on the Field as Yugi said "Horus, attack Sinister Serpent!"

Horus's mouth began to flash with a black and purple flame as Yugi added "Black Flame Fireball!" Horus shot a fireball at Sinister Serpent, destroying it, dropping Senbei's LP to 2200 Life Points now. Yugi then said "I will set one card down and now... since I am in my End Phase, I'll send Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 to my Graveyard, then Special Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 from my Deck!"

Horus LV4 disappeared in a flash of fire and then a much bigger version of Horus appeared, longer wings on its' body, a more falcon-esque appearance, a long tail, and longer talons as it roared.

HORUS THE BLACK FLAME DRAGON LV6  
Fire/Dragon/6/2300 ATK/1600 DEF  
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the Field, it is unaffected by any Magic Cards. During the End Phase of a turn that this card destroyed a Monster as a result of Battle, send this card to the Graveyard and Special Summon 1 "Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8" from your hand or Deck.

Senbei looked on and blinked as he said "What the-?"

Taro looked on in awe and said "Whoa... what the heck is that?"  
Solomon chuckled and replied "This is a new Monster of Yugi's... Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6. LV4, LV6, and LV8. All of them work in sync with one another."

"Dad, how exactly do they work together? I saw that LV4 changed to LV6 once Yugi destroyed his Sinister Serpent." Suki asked, standing up some.  
Solomon smiled. "It is simple. LV6's effect is all Magic Cards cannot affect it... plus when it destroys a Monster in Battle, you can send it to the Graveyard, and bring out the biggest of them all... LV8. You will see, Suki. He'll bring it out, and win. I can just feel it that Yugi will bring out LV8."

Yugi stood still as Senbei said "My turn!" He drew his next card, and showed Yugi his card. "I will now play the Magic Card, Dark Hole, and wipe out the whole Field of Monsters!"  
Suddenly, a black hole appeared on the Field, circling rapidly, sucking in Hades and Newt into it, beginning to also yank Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 into it also! Senbei began to cackle as the Dark Hole disappeared.

DARK HOLE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Destroy all Monster Cards on the Field.

Senbei snickered and said "This is over, Yugi! Your big bad Dragon is gone! I will now play Monster Reborn to bring back Newt in Defense Mode and end my turn! How do you like?"

MONSTER REBORN  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Select 1 Monster in your or your opponent's Graveyard, and Special Summon it to your side of the Field, in face-up Attack Mode or face-up Defense Mode.

"It's fine with me." Yugi smiled as then suddenly, Horus LV6 shot out of the air and roared loudly as Senbei said "What! How is that possible? How can Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 be back when I used Dark Hole to destroy it?"  
"Horus LV6's effect is that no Magic Cards affect it while it's face-up on the Field. So? Whatcha gonna do now?"  
"... I end my turn. It's all I can do." Senbei said.  
Yugi then said "My turn! Draw!" He drew his next card and said "Horus LV6, destroy Newt!" Horus LV6's mouth let out the same black flame that LV4 let out as he said "Black Flame Stream!"  
A stream of fire shot from LV6's mouth then began to circle Newt, destroying it, even with its' ATK reduced to 1800, and its' DEF dropped to 1100 as Yugi said "I will set a card down. Turn end! And you know what that means... I will now send LV6 to the Graveyard... and call out one of my strongest Monsters in my Deck... call out Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!"

Yugi slapped down Horus LV8's card onto his Duel Disk, as a flash of fire wrapped around LV6, evolving it into LV8. LV8's body was now much bigger, with long arms where its' talons were, as well as its' claws and talons, its' tail longer too as it had a blue dot on its' forehead as it glared at Yugi's opponent, its' body glowing.

HORUS THE BLACK FLAME DRAGON LV8  
Fire/Dragon/8/3000 ATK/1800 DEF  
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of "Horus The Black Flame Dragon LV6". As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the Field, you can negate the activation and effect of any Magic Cards and destroy them.

Senbei looked on and said "Very well then.. this is where it ends!" He drew his next card, then he said "I will play Graceful Charity! Which lets me draw 3 cards, then discard 2 cards to the Graveyard!"  
Senbei quickly drew three cards and then discarded 2 to the Graveyard, as he smiled and said "I will now play Premature Burial, at the loss of 800 LP and Special Summon my best and favorite Monster! Come out! Grandius Dragon!"

With a loud roar, a Dragon with a bone-like structure along its' spine, and with ribs, black wings, and dark talons and green skin under the bones roared as it appeared onto the Field, its' tail slamming as it did.

GRANDIUS DRAGON  
Wind/Dragon/8/3000 ATK/2200 DEF  
Effect: When this card is succesfully Special Summoned, you may activate one Magic Card that exists in your Graveyard. If you do so, this card cannot attack during the turn it was successfully Special Summoned.

Senbei smiled as he said "Thanks to Grandius Dragon's special effect, I can activate a Magic Card from my Graveyard, so I will activate Dark Hole!" Dark Hole slid out of the Graveyard Slot of Senbei's Duel Disk, then appeared on the Field, circling around as Yugi said "No, you won't! I will now use Horus LV8's effect!"

Horus LV8's body began to glow as it roared, a big explosion of light shooting all oer as Yugi added in "MAGIC OBLITERATION!" Horus roared louder, exploding a blast of energy that shattered Dark Hole and surrounded the whole Field. Senbei cried out also as then the light disappeared as Senbei said "N-no..."  
"Heh. What will you do now?"  
Senbei clenched his fist as he said "Turn end!"

Yugi's LP - 3100  
Senbei's LP - 1400

Yugi exhaled and said "My turn. Draw!" Yugi drew his next card and then said "Now, I play Rush Recklessly, to boost the ATK of my Horus by 700 points to 3700!"  
Horus's body began to glow as it roared, its' ATK 3700 now. Yugi then said "I will now play Monster Reborn and Special Summon Green Gadget in Attack Mode."

With a flash of light, Green Gadget appeared again as Yugi said "Horus, attack and destroy Grandius Dragon!" Horus's mouth roared loudly as Yugi said "Black... Flame... Inferno!" Horus shot a blast of fire that blasted Grandius Dragon to ashes, destroying it and dealing 700 points of damage to Senbei's LP, dropping him to 700. Yugi then followed up "Green Gadget, direct attack!  
And add in Trap Card, activate Reinforcements!" Green Gadget's body began to glow as Senbei said "What!"

REINFORCEMENTS  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: Increase the ATK of a Monster by 500 points.

Green Gadget's ATK was 1900 now as Green Gadget then charged with Yugi saying "Gadget Punch!"  
Green Gadget then punched Senbei in the gut, causing the Card Hunter to cry out, his LP dropped to 0!

Senbei dropped to a knee as Yugi said "Yes!"  
Taro, Suki, and Solomon all said "Way to go, Yugi!"  
Senbei simply sighed and said "As promised, Yugi..." He took a key out and tossed it to him. "Here you go. This will let your family go... but I told you, the Card Hunters have a mission. And we will not stop it even if one of us loses to someone like you... one of us will probably beat you... or someone else. Count on it..." He walked off, then leapt off the construction site, but was gone...

Yugi looked at him, confused a bit But he shook it off and rushed to his family, unlocking them as he said "Hey,. you all OK?"  
"Man, that was cool! I didn't know you got this much stronger in such a short time!"  
Suki smiled and said "You were very wonderful, honey!"  
Yugi chuckled a bit, his cheeks red as he then smiled, just glad that his family was safe. He knew now of a new threat, but wondered what the Card Hunters would want from him in the future... so he would just have to be very curious.. and cautious to them...

Senbei himself, having landed on the ground surprisingly safely said "Boss... he knows..." speaking into a cell phone.  
"Good. That means we have some idea of what he'd want from us I suppose... your work is done, Senbei. Let someone else handle the job."  
"Yes." Senbei added, hanging up his cellphone, just walking off, a soft limp in his walk...

To Be Continued...


	2. Taro’s Time To Shine!

Episode 2 - Taro's Time To Shine!

The day after Yugi's confrontation with Senbei, he was just at school like always. Just sitting, looking at Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 before class was to start, as Joey said "Hello! Earth to Yugi!"  
Yugi shook his head and came back from the slightly unaware state he was in. "Huh? Did you say something, Joey...?"  
"Yeah, man, I asked what happened with you and Taro after you got back to your place last night? I tried to call ya but no one answered." Joey replied, sitting in a chair across from Yugi.

"Well... this guy, Senbei, from a group known as the Card Hunters, kidnapped Mom, Taro, and Grandpa, and I had to face him in a Duel. And... I felt this link between me and this card." Yugi carefully held up Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 to Joey. Soon, walking up, Téa said "Hey, guys!"

Joey turned and said "Morning, Téa!" but then cried out as he dropped Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8. Luckily, Téa picked it up and smiled. She then blinked a second and said "Who's card is this?"  
"That would be mine, Téa." Yugi replied.  
"Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8..." Téa began to look it over then read its' effect and said"What made you want to put Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 into your Deck, Yugi?"

Carefully, Yugi took the card back and said "Something about this card calls to me, Téa... I don't know what it is, but it must be what Atem felt whenever he used Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl... like I was destined to use Horus the Black Flame Dragon in all its' forms. It's amazing."

Soon, Yugi, Joey, and Téa turned as the door closed and they saw Tristan and Taro as Taro was now in a Domino High School uniform, adjusting his shirt under it as he said "Man, I cannot get used to this uniform! Yugi, how do you guys pull it out?"  
"I guess we grow into it, Taro. You get yourself all set up?"

"Yup!" Taro added with a big grin.  
"We have his classes all set up, I showed him where everything is. It should be fine, Yugi." Tristan replied as someone behind them said "And who do we have here?"

All 5 standing there turned to see a young man with messy black hair, green eyes, a red and black headband with black diamonds in the center and the same uniform as a student at Domino High. Yugi spoke up and said "This is my cousin, Duke. His name is Taro Mutoh, and he's come all the way from Tokyo to stay with my family while his mom's in America."

"And whaddya mean by that 'who do we have here'! Huh? You being condescending to me?"  
Duke chuckled and said "Such a fiery attitude. You do know who I am, right?"

"Yeah, yeah! You're Duke Devlin, the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters, and from what I can tell, you sound like one royal pain in the butt." Taro replied, arms crossed over his chest as he huffed.  
"Hey, at least I ain't a walkin' talkin' midget." Duke replied, but then Taro twitched at that, then tackled Duke, the two beginning to punch and fight as Taro said "You're gonna pay for that!"  
"You and what army are gonna make me, twerp!"

Some of the other students in the room all watched as Taro and Duke began to fight one another. Walking up to Yugi and the others, also in a Domino High uniform, but with long white hair and brown eyes as he whispered to Yugi. "What's going on, Yugi?"  
"Bakura... well, my cousin Taro and Duke are fighting. I knew when Taro got here someting like this was gonna occur, but in the middle of the classroom? I'm sure this is gonna be one wild ride..." Yugi ended with a sigh until a female voice, soft and gentle, but sweet also, rang out and said "Would you guys please stop it? You know if the teacher walks in, you two both may be in trouble."

Taro had the collar of Duke's coat, as Duke had Taro's shirt. Both turned to the female voice and were in awe as the young woman in a girl's uniform had light purple hair, long in length, with part of it in a ponytail, tied by a yellow ribbon as both said, as if in a daze "Alright..." then they let each other go as the teacher for the homeroom stepped into the room and said "Everyone to your seats please. But..." He stopped and looked at Taro and said "Could you please step up?"

Hearing that, Taro gulped and rushed up to the front of the class, turning to everyone else as he cleared his throat. "I know what the teacher wishes of me. He wants me to tell you all who I am. My name is Kentaro Mutoh. But only teachers, and other adults will get to call me that. Everyone else can call me Taro. Uh, if you cannot tell by my last name, I'm related to our own Yugi Mutoh. He's my cousin. Sorry, I feel really shy in front like this! It's different when I am not around a big crowd.. so... sorry if I don't feel like talking!" He then rushed off, taking his seat near Yugi's desk as he sighed, panting a bit as Yugi patted his shoulder.  
However... someone else in the class had their eye on Taro for a moment... and this one was another female student. This one had fiery red hair, and a girl's uniform on as she smiled, but this smile was like that of a succubbus... a sign of trouble.

After a few classes, about 3 hours or so later on in the day, around lunchtime, Taro was eating some lunch, particularly rice while he did his homework, making use of his pencils as makeshift chopsticks. He then continued to write as Yugi said "Sheesh, Taro, working through lunch?"  
"Hey, man, the sooner I get this taken care of, the more time I get some work on the reworking of my Deck taken care of!" Taro swallowed his rice then said "What about the Card Hunters? You going paranoid on us?"

"Nope. I am cautious... but something tells me they want more than just what Senbei told me. And from what he told me, it does seem serious... to make Duel Monsters more exciting apparently..."  
Taro had a small bit of squid leg in his mouth as he chewed then swallowed as he replied. "That cannot be good at all..."

But as Taro was about to speak again, the young girl with light purple hair walked up and said "Hello."  
"Oh! Uh, uhm... hi." Taro replied, his cheeks red some. "Ya know... I never caught your name..."  
The girl giggled some and said "It's Melody. Melody Nosaka. But many of my friends call me Ribbon."  
Yugi nodded. "Well, you know who we are, Melody. I was wondering what brought you over to our seats?"

"I just wanted to see how Taro was adjusting to our school." Melody asked, her arms behind her back.  
Taro was about to speak until a red-haired girl came up and smiled "Taro Mutoh!" She then out of nowhere hugged Taro as Taro gulped and Yugi and Melody had a shocked look on their face. Taro looked at her and said "Uhm, miss..."

"Oh! My name is Rumiko! I just wanted to say, I've seen you Duel in Tokyo before, and I must say it's an honor to have a Duelist as skilled as you around our school! Along with Yugi's known reputation, it will add to our school's popularity to know we have celebrities here!" Rumiko smiled, her long red hair resting along her back.

Tristan came walking up and said "Please, would you let go of my friend, Rumiko? You are suffocating the life outta him!"  
In Rumiko's arms, Taro flailed his right arm and cried out "Lemme go, lemme go, lemme go! I LIKE THE ATTENTION, BUT THIS IS TOO MUCH!"  
Rumiko blinked then dropped Taro onto his feet, who was panting his head off. With that said, the young red-haired girl said "Thanks for your time, Taro! Buh-bye." She waved then walked off. Tristan scratched his head and replied. "Holding up well?"  
"So-so." Taro replied, as he smiled. "Hey, Yugi, if we got time, wanna get a practice Duel in?"  
"Will do, Taro. Lemme just grab my Deck and..." Yugi reached into his back, feeling for where he placed his Deck, but then he blinked. When he did... he had a bad feeling as he began to put all of his things out of his bag and cried out. "AAAAAHHHH! My Deck! No way!"

"Say what? Your Deck's gone!" Taro said. "When did it...?"  
"I think I have an idea of who might have swiped it. But how that person managed to swipe it without us knowing it has sticky fingers." Tristan said, with Melody then saying "Rumiko! It must have occured when she was hugging Taro."  
Taro clenched his fist and said "Oh, that's it! I'm gonna go find that girl, and I'm gonna get your Deck back, Yugi! Just you wait!"

Reaching into his bag, Taro grabbed his Duel Disk, and his Deck and raced out of the classroom. Walking down the hallway, quite a bit ahead of Taro was Rumiko holding Yugi's Deck as she smiled and said "Like taking candy from a baby."

Once outside, Rumiko looked around to see if she could find someone or something. One couldn't tell until... "Do you have it?" A male voice spoke from the shadows. Rumiko stopped and turned as she smiled. "Oh, yeah, I sure did, Senbei. I got Yugi Mutoh's Deck. But... your leg... should you even be up, big brother?"

Senbei limped forward, using a crutch to help him some, nodding. "It's alright, Rumiko. I just busted it, that's all that happened. It'll heal soon. And besides, why else am I glad the Card Hunters had you enrolled here, at Domino High, the same school Yugi Mutoh goes to...? It meant we couild spy on him, and if need be, take any potential Decks and/or cards from others who play Duel Monsters. Did you recognize anyone else who played..?"

"Yeah, Mutoh's cousin... Tero... Tiiro..."

"It's Taro!" Senbei and Rumiko turned as they saw Taro, panting who had his Duel Disk under his right arm as he said, his index finger pointed at Rumiko and Senbei. "You got some guts, Rumiko, acting nice to me, then swiping Yugi's Deck! And then you're gonna give it to Senbei of the Card Hunters? I thought for a moment something about you wasn't right!"

"Heh. Well, well, you're not as dumb as you act, shrimp. I'll tell you up... we'll make a wager. I'll give you Yugi's Deck if you can beat me in a Duel. But if I win, I get his Deck AND I also get your Deck. What do you say?"  
Taro nodded. "Alright, I accept, Ms. Sticky Fingers." And with that, he rushed a bit out, sliding his Duel Disk on and placing his Deck into it, as it locked onto the ready position, and his LP counter was set at 4000 points. Rumiko reached behind her to get a different model of Duel Disk... one that was more petit it seemed, but it still had the basic 5 card Monster Zone, 5 card Magic/Trap Card zone, and a slot for the Field Magic Cards, and the Graveyard as well as she smiled, placing her Deck inside of her Duel Disk, her LP at 4000 also as she drew her first 5 cards ands Taro did the same. Then she smiled and said "You know all I said in class, Taro? It was all a big act. So let me see what you actually can do."

Taro smiled as he said "With pleasure. I'll go first then! Draw!" Taro drew his sixth card, examining his hand as he smiled and said "Time to rock and roll the gears, beybah! I summon X-Head Cannon in Attack Mode!" With Taro's summon a Machine-Type Monster with mostly a blue body, with some spots of yellow along the wrists, on its' fingers, down the middle of its' chest panel, and along its' upper arm area, and two cannons on its' shoulders appeared onto the Field.

X-HEAD CANNON  
Light/Machine/4/1800 ATK/1500 DEF

"Next up, I'll set a card face-down and end my turn." Taro smiled, as a large Duel Monsters card took to his side of the Field.  
Rumiko casually drew her sixth card and said "Trust me, beating you will be too much fun, Taro... considering you must be lonely."  
"..." Taro twitched at that a bit as Senbei already knew what his sister was doing... her skills at acting to her advantage as she continued. "You never seemed to fit in, and you won't here either. Everyone else didn't ask anything because they couldn't tolerate you. So why are you even here in Domino City?"

Taro clenched his cards, his hair over his eyes as he was remembering back in Tokyo... about 2 days ago, before his plan to set up a trip down to Domino City occured.

"Mom, how long do you think you'll be in Seattle for?" Taro had asked, sitting with his mother, Asako, as they ate dinner, which just was rice and shrimp, something simple, which Taro liked.

"It may be for the whole school year, kiddo. Besides, your Aunt Suki already said it was alright if you stayed with them in Domino City while you are gone. Besides, I am sure that you would make a lot of good friends there. Especially considering you will be there with Yugi and I know how much you enjoy being with Yugi." Asako smiled, her black hair tied up in a ponytail.

"Yeah. But the problem is, Mom... I've not had many friends at school... everyone seems put off by me whenever I just try to talk about Duel Monsters or anything else I like. I dunno if this place will be any different."  
"You just need to believe, Taro. That's all you can do, sweetie..."  
"I suppose."

Taro then heard someone calling his name, but it wasn't Rumiko. He lifted his head up and turned to see Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Joey, Duke, Bakura, and Melody, as he blinked and said "Guys..." With that said, suddenly, more students came out, murmuring as the Duel was about to get underway. Yugi looked on and said "Hey, Taro, kick some butt, man! I know how good of a Duelist you are so show her."  
Taro nodded and said "Will do!"

Rumiko then said "Well, it won't last us too long! I play White Magical Hat in Attack Mode." With Rumiko's summon, a gentleman appeared. He had a black moustache, a while tophat with a blue trim in the middle, a white cape with reverse red side, a red bowtie, blue suit with white gloves and shoes. However, Senbei knew this card was of Rumiko's Deck, which she called "Sticky Fingers Theft".

WHITE MAGICAL HAT  
Light/Spellcaster-Effect/3/1000 ATK/700 DEF  
Effect: When this card inflicts damage to your opponent's Life Points, one card must be discarded randomly from your opponent's hand to the Graveyard.

Rumiko then smiled, following up by saying "And to add to that, I play this card. Confiscation!"  
Taro gulped a bit as Tristan said "Hey, Yugi, what does Confiscation do?"  
"The player who uses it pays 1000 Life Points and then can look at the opponent's hand and discard 1 card to the Graveyard. In other words, it provides card advantage a bit."

CONFISCATION  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points to look at your opponent's hand. Select 1 card and discard it to the Graveyard.

Taro's cards began to glow as Rumiko then saw virtual images of Taro's hand, sizing it up carefully, just smiling. The choices she had were Limiter Removal, Cyber Falcon, Y-Dragon Head, and Ground Collapse.

LIMITER REMOVAL  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: Double the ATK of all Machine-Type Monsters on your side of the Field. At the end of this turn, all Machine-Type Monsters on your side of the Field are destroyed.

CYBER FALCON  
Wind/Machine/4/1400 ATK/1200 DEF

Y-DRAGON HEAD  
Light/Machine-Union/4/1500 ATK/1600 DEF  
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if your control this Monster on the Field, you can equip it to your "X-Head Cannon" as an Equipment Magic Card, OR change it back to a Monster in face-up Attack Mode. When equipped to a Monster by this card's effect, that Monster's ATK/DEF is increased by 400 points (1 Monster can only be Equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the Monster that this card is equipped to is destroyed in battle, this card is destroyed instead.)

GROUND COLLAPSE  
Permanent Magic Card  
Effect: Select 2 Monster Card Zones on the Field (you cannot select a zone occupied by a Monster Card). The selected zones cannot be used as long as this card remains face-up on the Field.

Rumiko nodded as she said "I will discard... Y-Dragon Head." She tapped Y-Dragon Head's card and it exploded, as Taro then took it from his hand and slipped it into the Graveyard slot until he smiled and said "You know, I was hoping you would do that... 'cause it gives me an opportunity to do this! Trap Card, activate! Gears of Rebirth!"

With that, the card Taro had set shined as the red metalled Y-Dragon Head appeared on the Field again, its' card horizontally turned as it had its' wings over its' body. Taro smiled as Rumiko said "How the-?"  
"Simple! My Trap Card, Gears of Rebirth. When a Level 4 Machine-Type Monster rests in my Graveyard, I can play this card and Special Summon it or another Level 4 Machine-Type Monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode. But it can't change its' battle position next turn and can't attack while it remains face-up. Small price to pay."

GEARS OF REBIRTH  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: Select 1 Level 4 Machine-Type Monster in your Graveyard and Special Summon the chosen card to your side of the Field in Defense Mode. This card cannot change its' battle position next turn, and cannot attack while it remains face-up on the Field.

Rumiko then said "So? It's gonna hurt you too. I play the Magic Card, Secret Pass to the Treasures!" Bakura looked on and said "I know that card. It allows a Monster with 1000 ATK or less that the player has to direct attack the opponent's Life Points. In other words, Rumiko can hit Taro for 1000 Life Points and..."  
"Make him discard 1 card from his hand to the Graveyard... what a bad sitch that is for Taro..." Tristan replied. Melody looked on and said "How bad is it for Taro, Yugi?"  
"I'm not sure yet. Rumiko's Deck isn't clear to me yet, even if her basic strategem is, Melody."

SECRET PASS TO THE TREASURES  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Select 1 face-up Monster with an ATK equal to 1000 points or less on your side of the Field. During the turn this card is activated, the selected Monster can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

All of the other students observing the Duel all looked on, all of them giving their own opinions to others, as Rumiko said "White Magical Hat, attack his Life Points directly!" White Magical Hat charged right at Taro as he gulped then was punched hard in the face, hitting the ground with a thud, his LP dropped by 1000 points to 3000, making him tied with Rumiko. But as Rumiko reminded him... "With that damage, you're going to have to discard 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard at random."

Taro got up and began to dig through his cards in his hand, then discarded Limiter Removal to the Graveyard. Rumiko smiled and said "I will next set a card face-down, and end my turn with just two cards in my hand."  
After shaking himself off, Taro exhaled and said "My turn! Draw!"He drew his next card, now having 3 cards in hand. He then said "I will now play Pot of Greed!"

POT OF GREED  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Draw 2 cards from your Deck.

Taro quickly drew two cards, then looked at them sas he said "I now play Z-Metal Tank in Attack Mode!"  
Taro's summon this time provided a golden colored tank-like Machine, with a green glass eye in the middle of its' mid-section, with 2 slots that seemed to be able to open... and now, Taro was ready to rock and roll as he smiled. "I'm sure you know how these 3 work, don'tcha?"

Z-METAL TANK  
Light/Machine-Union/4/1500 ATK/1300 DEF  
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, if your control this Monster on the Field, you can equip it to your "X-Head Cannon" or "Y-Dragon Head" as an Equipment Magic Card, OR change it back to a Monster in face-up Attack Mode. When equipped to a Monster by this card's effect, that Monster's ATK/DEF is increased by 600 points (1 Monster can only be Equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the Monster that this card is equipped to is destroyed in battle, this card is destroyed instead.)

"X... Y... Z...?" Rumiko blinked as she said "They're all... what? You don't mean-!"  
"He is gonna do it, isn't he? He is gonna call that out?" Senbei thought as Taro grinned and said "Get ready to meet the true power of my Machine Link Deck! X, Y, Z, UNITE!"

X-Head Cannon shot up into the air, Y-Dragon Head right behind, as a compartment on Y's back opened up, its' wings locking into place at its' sides as X-Head Cannon landed onto Y-Dragon Head's back, then Z-Metal Tank opened up its' back, sliding parts of itself into its' body as Y-Dragon Head pulled its' legs up and landed onto Z-Metal Tank, and then Taro said "And now... here comes the strongest of my Union Machines! X... Y... Z... Dragon Cannon!"

Z-Metal Tank's compartments opened and revealed cannons as XYZ-Dragon Cannon sparked with electricity, as it was ready to fight.

XYZ-DRAGON CANNON  
Light/Machine-Fusion/8/2800/2000  
X-Head Cannon + Y-Dragon Head + Z-Metal Tank  
Effect: This Monster can only be Special Summoned by removing from play the above Monsters on your side of the Field. You do not use "Polymerization" to Special Summon this Monster from your Fusion Deck. Discard 1 card from your hand to destroy 1 card on your opponent's side of the Field.

Rumiko looked on and said "XYZ-Dragon Cannon? I knew all 3 of them could unite, but this is just...!"  
"What? Complicated for a guy like me? I'm not as dumb as I look, sweetheart. And now I am gonna use XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect, discarding a card from my hand to the Graveyard... and destroy 1 card on your side of the Field!"

Taro took Cyber Falcon from his hand and slid it into his Duel Disk's Graveyard slot, saying "XYZ-Dragon Cannon, Hyper Destruction!"  
X's cannons charged up, as did Y's mouth, and Z's own cannons charged up all at once as they fired, blowing away Rumiko's set card, as Taro then said "Attack White Magical Hat, XYZ-Dragon Cannon! Now!"

XYZ-Dragon Cannon's attack charged then fired, blowing White Magical Hat to dust, blowing it up, as Rumiko cried out, her LP dropped by 1800 points to 1200 points, but Rumiko smiled as she said "Foolish mistake, I got to say." With that, suddenly, a golden demonic snake like creature with an Aztec feel appeared, its' long arms at its' sides, its' 4 eyes glowing red, and a red orb in the center of its' body with a green slot shined. Taro blinked "What the!"

Rumiko then held up a card. "Check out my card... Statue of The Wicked. I bet you know how this works, right?" The red-haired girl's tone reminded the spikey brown-haired boy's attitude when he had summoned XYZ-Dragon Cannon. And she simply smiled, slipping her Trap Card away.

STATUE OF THE WICKED  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: When this face-down card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Wicked Token" (Demon-Type/DARK/4 Stars/ATK 1000/DEF 1000) in Attack or Defense Mode on your side of the Field.

Taro then said "Well, at least I got the lead in LP for the moment, so I'll end my turn."  
Rumiko smiled, drawing her next card as she then showed her next card. "I will now play Coins from Heaven. This little number will let us both draw until we have 6 cards. We both have 2... so we both get 4 cards." 

COINS FROM HEAVEN (English name - Card of Sanctity)  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Both players draw cards until they both have 6 cards in hand.

Taro drew his 4 cards as did Rumiko, who smiled and said "I will next set another card down. And play Cyclone to destroy it!"

Taro blinked at that as the other card was destroyed, and out came another Wicked Token! Taro had then figured out it was another copy of Statue of the Wicked, which meant that she had 2 Wicked Tokens! And that meant she had two free Monsters now. Senbei smiled, watching the Duel, right arm across his stomach as he said 'Now it's time for the real fun to begin."

Rumiko then smiled, holding up a card as she said "Get ready! I now sacrifice both of my Wicked Tokens... and I call out this number!" Rumiko's two Wicked Tokens disappeared in a flash of fire, her hand size being dropped to 3 cards in her hand now as she held up her 2-sacrifice Monster. "Come out! Ultimate Obedient Fiend in Attack Mode!"

In a blaze of fire, a gigantic red demon with black markings on its' body, two large red horns, a large-like teeth structure in the center of its' chest, eyes on its' chest and along the metal bandana it had, as it clenched its' fists and snarled... then roared loudly.  
Taro looked on and said "Oooohhhh, boy... this isn't gonna bode well..."

ULTIMATE OBEDIENT FIEND  
Fire/Demon/10/3500 ATK/3000 DEF  
Effect: This card can only attack when there are no other cards on your side of the Field and you also have no hand. Negate the effects of Effect Monsters destroyed by this card.

Taro then blinked, remembering Ultimate Obedient Fiend's effect and said "Ha! In YOUR face, Rumiko! That card can't attack since you still got 3 cards in your hand! And you couldn't set 'em 'cause then your poor Ultimate Obedient Fiend STILL couldn't attack! So... HA!"

Rumiko chuckled. "Foolish mistake." She took another card from her hand and showed it to Taro as he said "I will now play the Quickplay Magic Card, Shrink, and weaken your XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"

SHRINK  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: Select 1 face-up Monster on the Field. Reduce the selected Monster's base ATK by half until the End Phase of the current turn.

Suddenly, XYZ-Dragon Cannon began to shrink as Rumiko now had 2 cards as she then smiled and took another card from her hand. "I will now play this next card! The Secret of the Bandit!"

THE SECRET OF THE BANDIT  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: This card can only be activated during Main Phase 1. Select 1 Monster on the Field. Each time the selected Monster inflicts Battle Damage, your opponent must randomly discard 1 card randomly during the turn this card is activated.

Ultimate Obedient Fiend began to glow as Rumiko said "As you can guess, my lovely little Fiend here will get the effect of Secret of the Bandit. Next... I will play Emergency Provisions and destroy my last set card!"

EMERGENCY PROVISIONS  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: Send Magic or Trap Cards on your side of the Field to increase your Life Points by 1000 points per card. This card is excluded.

With the explosion of her set Magic/Trap Card, Rumiko's Life Points were raised to 2200 as Rumiko smiled and said "Ultimate Obedient Fiend, crush XYZ-Dragon Cannon! Inferno Fist!" Ultimate Obedient Fiend's fist began to glow with fire as it shot right at XYZ-Dragon Cannon, smashing it to dust, destroying it and dropping Taro's Life Points by 1100 points to 1900. But he then looked at his hand, randomly selecting a card, and discarding it to the Graveyard as he then thought to himself 'This is NOT good! That Fiend is strong, but Rumiko has wasted her whole hand just to attack with it... does she got some grander scheme in mind with Ultimate Obedient Fiend...?'

Rumiko then smiled, saying "Turn end."  
Taro placed his hand on his Deck and said "My turn!" He drew his next card, with much gusto as he examined his hand. He then took his card of choice and said "I will now play this Magic Card from my hand! I play Silent Dead!"

SILENT DEAD (English Name: Silent Doom)  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Special Summon 1 Normal Monster from your Graveyard to the Field in face-up Defense Mode. As long as the Special Summoned card remains face-up on the Field, it can't attack.

With a flash of light, Cyber Falcon appeared back onto the Field in Defense Mode, its' wings wrapped around itself as Taro then examined other cards in his hand as he then took 2 cards and said "I will set 2 cards down, and so I end my turn."

Rumiko smiled. "My turn." She drew her next card and said "I will now set a card down, and since my poor Fiend can't attack yet... I'll end my turn."  
Taro blinked as he then said "OK... my turn." He drew his next card as Rumiko then smiled, saying "Set Card, activate! SKILL DRAIN!"  
Suddenly, Ultimate Obedient Fiend cried out as it dropped to one knee, groaning in pain as it then stood back up, cracking its' knuckles.

SKILL DRAIN  
Continuous Trap Card  
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points. As long as this card remains face-up on the Field, negate the effects of all face-up Effect Monsters on the Field.

Rumiko's Life Points were now at 1200 points as she said "Oops. Forget it. My Monster CAN now attack, sans its' effect, but a noble sacrifice for it to attack without restriction."  
Taro gulped as he then said "I'll just summon Battle Footballer in Defense Mode."

A robot that appeared to have a football uniform on, its' arms crossed over its' body, a red helmet with the same shoulder pads, green chest armor and leg armor as it remained beside Cyber Falcon.

BATTLE FOOTBALLER  
Fire/Machine/4/1000 ATK/2100 DEF

"Turn end."  
"Getting desperate now, Mutoh? I can tell... you're nowhere near as good as your cousin. And beating you and keeping his Deck AND getting yours as well will be even sweeter. My turn!" Rumiko drew her next card and said "Ultimate Obedient Fiend! Plow right through Cyber Falcon!" Ultimate Obedient Fiend's fist began to ignite as it attacked, but Taro smiled as he said "Trap Card, activate! Negate Attack!"

Suddenly, Ultimate Obedient Fiend's attack was blocked by a vortex as it leapt back towards Rumiko as Taro grinned and laughed. "That was such an easy read to me! Too slow, I gotta say, Rumiko!"  
"Feh. Lucky break. I end my turn."  
Taro exhaled and said "My turn..." He looked at his hand again... seeing he had Scapegoat in his hand. If he just had his best Monster... he could easily raise it up with his other set card AND win the Duel.

SCAPEGOAT  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: When this card is activated, you cannot summon any Monsters during the same turn (including Flip Summon and Special Summon). Place 4 "Sheep Tokens" (Beast-Type/EARTH/1 Star/ATK 0/DEF 0) in Defense Mode on your side of the Field. The tokens cannot be used in a Sacrifice for a Sacrifice Summon.

Taro closed his eyes as he drew his next card, then opened his eyes as he smiled, getting the Monster he needed... Perfect Machine King!

PERFECT MACHINE KING  
Earth/Machine/8/2700 ATK/1500 DEF  
Effect: Increase the ATK of this card by 500 points for each Machine-Type Monster on the Field other than this card.

Taro then smiled as he said "I will now sacrifice Cyber Falcon and Battle Footballer... and I will call out Perfect Machine King in Attack Mode!"  
In a flash of light both of Taro's previous Machine-Type Monsters had gone, and in their place, stood a larger machine. This one stood like a man, with red armor showing as well as white armor, including two missile launchers on the shoulders, the one on the right having a "04" on it as its' blue eyes began to glow. Perfect Machine King landed down onto Taro's side of the Field as he said "I will now set 1 card face-down! Turn end!"

Bakura looked on and then said "Is Taro throwing the Duel away? If Ultimate Obedient Fiend is going to attack, it's over. And... Skill Drain stops Perfect Machine King's effect. What is he...?"  
"I do get what he is up to... it's simple, Bakura. Just watch." Yugi smiled. "Taro IS good. And I won't help anyone in their Duels. All I can give him, like I will give anyone else is support, nothin' more. So come on, Taro!"

Taro nodded as he said "So... whatcha gonna do now?"  
"Gonna end this!" Rumiko drew her next card and said "Ultimate Obedient Fiend! Attack Perfect Machine King!" Ultimate Obedient Fiend shot its' fist right at Perfect Machine King and then it stopped as Rumiko said "What..? How did..?"  
Taro laughed then said "Check it out! My set card... Dust Tornado!"

DUST TORNADO  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: Destroy 1 Magic or Trap Card on your opponent's side of the Field. You can then Set 1 Magic or Trap Card from your hand to your side of the Field.

A tornado appeared onto the Field, sweeping away Skill Drain. Taro simply smiled before speaking and said "Since Skill Drain is gone, Ultimate Obedient Fiend's attack is null and void since you got 2 cards in your hand now, Rumiko! Plus, with Dust Tornado's effect, I will set one card face-down in my Magic/Trap Card Zone."  
Rumiko then took her free thumb to her lip and bit it as she said "He's right... so I will end my turn. But I doubt you can get enough power to your Monster to beat me, Taro."

Taro smiled as he said "My turn. Draw!" He drew his next card and said "You'd be surprised. I set a plan into motion WAAAAAY back a few turns ago."  
"Hmm?" Senbei blinked then said "Wait a minute..."

Taro smiled and said "Set Card, activate! Scapegoat!"  
With Taro's use of Scapegoat, four tiny goats, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 pink, and 1 orange, appeared on the Field, and happily smiled as Taro then said "But the fun doesn't end there! Trap Card! DNA Surgery!"

Joey then snapped his fingers and said "I get it! Taro is gonna use Scapegoat and DNA Surgery to raise Perfect Machine King's ATK by 2000 points!"  
"2500, dufus!" Tristan added. "Don't forget, Rumiko has Ultimate Obedient Fiend in play too. Since we can guess he'll call Machine as the Type for DNA Surgery's effect. That means 500 for her Monsters too."

DNA SURGERY  
Continuous Trap Card  
Effect: Select 1 Type of Monster. As long as this card remains face-up on the Field, all face-up Monster Cards are treated as the Type selected.

With that, Taro's 4 Goat Tokens changed from Beast-Type to more Machine-Type as did Rumiko's Ultimate Obedient Fiend as Rumiko said "Oh, no! That means..."  
"Yup! 500 x 5 2500! That means Perfect Machine King's ATK is gonna skyrocket from 2700 points to 5200 points!"

Perfect Machine King began to glow, and like Taro had said, its' ATK went up from 2700 to 5200 points. Taro then said "And since it's my turn... I'll attack! Perfect Machine King, attack Ultimate Obedient Fiend!"  
Perfect Machine King locked onto Ultimate Obedient Fiend and shot a series of missiles from its' missile launchers on its' shoulders, blowing Ultimate Obedient Fiend to dust as Rumiko cried out, her Life Points dropping to 0 as Taro flicked his nose with his left thumb and put his index and middle finger into a V shape as he said "Victory is mine!"

Joey blinked in surprise as he said "He's THAT strong? OK... mental note to self... don't insult Taro enough unless I want him to take me on in a Duel AND take me down..."  
Tristan chuckled as he smiled. "Did you really expect less from Yugi's cousin?"  
"No, no! N-not at all!" Joey replied, chuckling uneasily as Melody clapped happily, with Duke saying "Wow. This shrimp is..."

Taro then walked over to Rumiko, extending his hand. "If I could... can I please get Yugi's Deck back?"  
Rumiko nodded then placed Yugi's Deck into Taro's hand as she said "A promise is a promise."  
"Thanks, Rumiko. And I gotta say, even if you did swipe Yugi's Deck, you're sure a strong Duelist! I sometimes thought for a moment I was gonna lose there!" Taro replied, a big grin on his face as Rumiko blinked then said "Just because you won today doesn't mean you will win next time." She turned and walked off, walking to her brother, Senbei as he followed. Taro then heard more clapping besides from Melody and turned to see everyone clapping.

He sheepishly chuckled, then rubbed the back of his head as Yugi smiled, saying 'I can tell that for Taro, adjusting was going to be tough, but now... now that he knows he's not truly alone, he will do well. And I am going to be right there with him to help if I need to.' Taro then said "Thank you very much!"

However... Senbei and Rumiko kept walking as Senbei said "I am sure the boss will not be very happy about us failing, Rumiko."  
"Don't worry, Senbei... she did want to have their Decks studied for the REAL incident to come." Rumiko replied, smiling.  
Senbei nodded as he said "Of course... but... I can't help but feel anyone of us won't beat Yugi or anyone else in his entourage..." Senbei had his thoughts to himself as he walked with Rumiko, to who knows where... as the plans of their "boss" seemed unknown for the time.

To Be Continued...


	3. Enter the Mandarin Fist! Lee Seiron

Episode 3 - Enter the Mandarin Fist! Lee Seiron

At the Kame Game Shop, Yugi, Téa, Tristan, Bakura, and Duke all watched on as Taro and Joey shuffled each other's Decks, getting ready to run a practice Duel. Joey handed Taro his own Deck and Taro did the same with Joey's as both placed them down and then drew 5 cards. Joey smiled as he said "I'll go first! Draw!" He then drew his sixth card, examining his hand as he then said "I'll start by playing Panther Warrior in Attack Mode!"

Placing a card in his Monster Zone on the playfield, Joey's Monster of choice has dark purple fur, a scimitar in one hand, a shield in the other, as well as blue, yellow, and red armor, brown boots, and a green cape. Panther Warrior's effect may have hindered it from making an immediate attack, but that is not why Joey led off with it.

PANTHER WARRIOR  
Earth/Beast-Warrior/4/2000 ATK/1600 DEF  
Effect: This card cannot attack unless you offer one of your Monsters on the Field as a Sacrifice.

"I'll set one card down and then end my turn." Joey replied, placing a card in his Magic/Trap Card Zone, right underneath the Monster Zone he had placed Panther Warrior's card in.

"My turn. Draw!" Taro drew his next card, then said "I will set one card face-down and then one Monster to end my turn." Taro replied, smiling. "You guys do this kind of thing often, Yugi?"  
"Sure do!" Yugi replied. Duke took a few nuts from a bag of mixed nuts he had as he said "And to see these guys doing it is interesting. Although... I bet I could beat either one of them."  
"That one time you beat Joey musta been a fluke, Duke." Tristan added, his arms behind his head. "You tried it with your regular Deck, you sure would lose, I can guess."  
"Hey! This coming from the guy who doesn't got much in the Dueling department!" Duke added on as Téa shushed them both. "Guys! Can you keep it down? You might break their concentration."

Joey nodded as he said "My turn. Draw!" He drew his next card as he then said "I will play my..." Suddenly, the door opened and everyone lifted their heads up to see a young man standing in the door way, carrying a white dufflebag, having a black t-shirt under a unbuttoned red and white mandarin shirt, a blue sash around his waist, mandarin pants of black color with a yellowish dragon on the right leg, and black and white sneakers. He also had dark blue hair, which was tied into a ponytail by a yellow sash as he said "Yugi Mutoh?"

Yugi blinked as he said "Yeah... that's me... who are you?"  
The young man bowed as he said "My name is Lee Seiron... I have come for two reasons! 1, I wish to Duel you for the honor of someone I care about AND to prove my prowess to you... and 2..." Suddenly, Lee held out a book, which was opened, and the cover had the Chinese letters for "Autograph" on it "Can I have your autograph?"  
Téa, Tristan, Duke, Joey, Bakura, and Taro all collapsed as Bakura said "You want an autograph as well? What kind of kook are you?"  
"Ehehehehe... the unusual kind, sir." Lee chuckled as Yugi blinked.

Soon enough, Yugi and Lee were outside as they had their Duel Disks on, their Decks at the ready, their Life Point counters at 4000 as both said "Let's Duel!"  
Both Duelists quickly drew their first 5 cards as Yugi said "Lee, who is this person you care about that you said you were fighting for the honor of? Is it someone I've met before?"  
"...You don't know? That person whom I refer to is Vivian Wong, the Duelist Queen of China."  
"Vivian?" Yugi blinked as Téa sighed and said "I can't believe Lee is tied to Vivian somehow! I figured after the KaibaCorp Grand Prix we would have heard the last of her..."

Bakura and Taro looked at Joey, Téa, Tristan, and Duke as Bakura spoke first. "Guys, did I miss something here? What is going on fully?"  
"And who the heck is Vivian?" Taro added, scratching his head.

"Vivian was a person whom Yugi and the rest of us first met at Kaiba's KaibaCorp Grand Prix tournament in California. She competed in the Grand Prix, but lost to Rebecca Hawkins in the first Duel. She then 'kidnapped' Mr. Mutoh AND made Yugi a proposal; if he won, she'd let him go, if she won, he'd go on a date with her. Simple enough, Yugi won. But she was NO pushover either time!" Joey said. "And if this Lee guy knows Vivian, that means it won't bode well for Yugi probably..."  
"I dunno... that name does sound familiar..." Duke added, rubbing his chin, trying to think.

Lee smiled as he said "Let's dance. My turn. Draw!" He drew his 6th card and then showed his card of choice to Yugi. "I will get us started by activating the Magic Card, Reinforcement of the Army! This little number will allow me to get a Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type Monster from my Deck to my hand."

REINFORCEMENT OF THE ARMY  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Move 1 Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type Monster from your Deck to your hand. Your Deck is then shuffled.

Lee pulled his Deck out and flipped through it until he got to one Warrior in particular... Legendary Fighter Wu Shu. He took it and shuffled his Deck quickly, then placed it back into his Duel Disk, examining the rest of his hand as he smiled and took Wu Shu and said "I play Legendary Fighter Wu Shu in Attack Mode!"

LEGENDARY FIGHTER - WU SHU  
Earth/Warrior/4/1800 ATK/1700 DEF

With a flash of light, a man with greyish-silver hair, blue eyes, a white tank top, white-taped hands, black mandarin pants, and the same kind of shoes appeared, kicking the air, taking a fighting stance as he did. Lee took another card from his hand and said "I will now set one card face-down and end my turn!" Lee's hand size right now was 4, but he knew of the risks he would take in this Duel. But to fight, it was worth it.

"My turn. Draw!" Yugi drew his next card, examining his hand. He noticed one of his Monsters was Breaker the Magical Warrior. He figured if he used Breaker, he could then destroy that set card Lee had on the Field without worry. He nodded as he said "I will play Breaker the Magical Warrior in Attack Mode!"

In a flash of light also, Yugi's side of the Field had a warrior with red and gold armor, a shield of the same colors with a purple orb of some kind on it, and in his other hand, he held a green bladed sword, with a red and yellow cape, and a green lining to it. Soon, Breaker's sword began to glow, signalling his effect.

BREAKER THE MAGICAL WARRIOR  
Dark/Spellcaster/4/1600 ATK/1000 DEF  
Effect: When this card is successfully Normal Summoned, put 1 Magic Counter on it (max. 1). Increase the ATK of this Monster by 300 points for each Magic Counter on this card. Also, you can remove 1 Magic Counter from this card to destroy 1 Magic Card or Trap Card on the Field.

Breaker's ATK was then shot up from 1600 points to 1900 thanks to the Magic Counter on it as Yugi said "And now..."  
"Not gonna happen, Yugi! I play my set Trap Card! Weigh Restraints!" The life-sized Duel Monsters card Lee had on his side of the Field flipped up, showing a Trap Card whose image showed a Monste trapped by weights that had 1,000,000 on it.  
Suddenly, metal weights slammed around Breaker, causing him to slump as Yugi said "Huh? Breaker!"  
"This Trap Card may be a Normal Trap Card, but the effect is a nice one, Yugi. For every Monster on my side of the Field, 1 Monster on your side of the Field has its' ATK dropped by 100 points x the number of Monsters I have. And since Wu Shu is my lone Monster... your Breaker loses 100 ATK points."

WEIGHT RESTRAINTS  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: When this card is activated, select 1 face-up Monster on your opponent's side of the Field. Reduce the ATK of the selected Monster by 100 points times how many face-up Monsters are on your side of the Field.

"Now neither one of us has the advantage, Yugi. If you attacked, you'd lose your Monster, even if you got rid of mine as well. So, what will you do now?" Lee smiled. Yugi then said "Sorry, but you're wrong about that, Lee. I got a card in my hand that's gonna help make sure I won't lose my Monster if I attack yours! I activate the Permanent Magic Card, Kishido Spirit!"

With that, Yugi's Permanent Magic Card took effect, as a glowing blue energy wrapped around Breaker as Yugi smiled and said "As long as Kishido Spirit is in play, anytime my Monsters are in battle with yours and their ATK is the same, my Monsters don't get destroyed."

KISHIDO SPIRIT  
Permanent Magic Card  
Effect: Monsters on your side of the Field cannot be destroyed in a battle if the two Monsters' ATK is equal.

"Breaker, attack Wu Shu!" Breaker soon shattered the weights, but their effect left on as his ATK was 1800, the same as Wu Shu. He charged as Wu Shu, with Yugi shouting "Magical Sword Slash!" Breaker then slashed Wu Shu right down the middle, destroying it as he remained in place, leaping back to Yugi's side of the Field.

"I'll then set one card face-down and end my turn." Yugi replied as Lee said "Alright. My turn. Draw!" Both players had their LP the same, at 4000 points each, as Lee drew his 5th card. He then said "I will play Karate Man in Attack Mode!"  
With Lee's summon, an Africian-American martial artist with a yellow gi, black belt, a red headband around his forehead, and a large black afro appeared on the Field, taking a fighting stance. Joey blinked at that Monster then began to laugh at it as he said "Oh, man! What is THAT supposed to do?"

"I wouldn't laugh, Joey... that card is more of a threat than it looks..." Taro added, looking on intently.

KARATE MAN  
Earth/Warrior/3/1000 ATK/1000 DEF  
Effect: Once per turn, the original ATK of this card can be doubled. When this effect is applied, this card is  
destroyed immediately at the End Phase of the turn.

Lee then said "Karate Man, power up!" Suddenly, Karate Man's body began to expand as it gritted its teeth, then slammed its' foot down, its' stance changing, plus its' ATK doubled to 2000 points! Joey looked on as he said "How the-?"  
"Karate Man's effect is it can double its' ATK for the turn it's in play, but it's destroyed at the end of the turn once the effect kicks in. Lee's got the clear advantage now... and who knows what else is in his hand." Taro added as Lee took a card from his hand and said "I will now play the Magic Card, Giant Trunade, returning all cards on our side of the Field to our hands!"

GIANT TRUNADE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Return all Magic Cards and Trap Cards on the Field to their owners' hands.

A big gust of wind shot around the Field as Yugi caught his two cards and Lee then said "I will now attack! Karate Man, attack Breaker the Magical Warrior with Fists of Fury!" Karate Man charged and punched Breaker rapidly in the chest, cracking his armor as he then uppercutted Breaker, destroying him and dropping Yugi's LP to 3800 points. Lee then said "I will now set a card face-down, and end my turn." Karate Man began to glow, then disappeared in a flash of light as Lee knew his turn was done... but he was protected. Yugi then said "My turn! Draw!" He drew his next card. He looked at his card and said "I will now play Torike in Attack Mode!"

The Summon Yugi made had called out a small green Monster who had a yellow horn in the front, two in the back, and 6 small yellow claws, 3 on each foot as it roared.

TORIKE  
Earth/Beast/3/1200 ATK/600 DEF

"Torike, Direct Attack!" Yugi said. Torike charged at Lee, as Lee then said "Trap Card, activate! Negate Attack!" With that call, a vortex appeared, blocking Torike's attack, blasting it back to Yugi's side of the Field, rolling along the grouind, its' eyes swirling as it sat in front of Yugi, trying to regain its' composure as it got up, then shook its' head, ready to battle again as it thrusted its' right arm ahead of it.

Yugi smiled as he then said "I will next play Pot of Greed!" Yugi drew two cards then said "I will set one card down and end my turn."  
"My turn. Draw!" Lee drew his next card as he examined his hand, then smiled as he said "I will now play Kung Fu Nyan Nyan in Attack Mode!"

Lee's next summon brought about a Monster whom had dark pink hair, which was tied up in buns, a light pink set of robes with a sash down the mid-section, a ribbon of light blue around her waist tied in a bow in the back, similar ribbons in her hair, light brown pants, and dark brown boots as she took a fighting stance. Yugi recognized this Monster easily as he said "Wait a minute! Vivian's also used this card!"  
"Exactly, but for someone whose Deck is a Martial Arts Deck, Kung Fu Nyan Nyan is a perfect choice." Lee replied, smiling.  
"Martial Arts Deck...?" Yugi added, blinking some.

KUNG FU NYAN NYAN  
Earth/Warrior/4/1700 ATK/1300 DEF  
Effect: If this card does not attack in the Battle Phase, its' ATK is increased by 300 points at your next Standby Phase.

"And to add that up, I will now play Monster Reborn, and bring back Legendary Fighter Wu Shu in Attack Mode!" Wu Shu then leapt back up from the ground, kicking the air as Lee took a fighitng stance and said "As you can see, Yugi, I came to play! I never back down and I always get serious in a Duel! In Battle, you got to give it 120, since Dueling is a whopping 100 mental, and 20 prep work on your Deck! Strategizing, planning, plotting! All of it matters in the end when you think about it!"

Yugi looked on and nodded. "I agree, Lee. But having fun should be important too." A simple smile came onto the face of the spikey haired Duelist as he said "That person whom Dueled Vivian was someone I knew well. He was my other self, and he felt he kept Dueling 'cause of strong opponents. But... to me, I Duel because it's fun!"

"Fun? That's his answer? That's why he Duels?" Duke said, blinking.  
Bakura nodded. "Everyone has a reason for Dueling. Winning for some is important, but... but Yugi's answer is rather good. It does seem true by how Atem Dueled that it was strong opponent who kept him going, even if he did also at times seem to enjoy winning. But... all in all, it was strong opponents who gave him his want to play."  
Taro grinned. "I play fer the same reason as Yugi! What's the point of Dueling if you're just gonna be serious all the time? IT GETS BORRRRING!"  
The others all looked at the Field as Lee said "For now, Yugi. I end my turn."

"My turn. Dra-" as Yugi was about to draw, a sudden flash of light overtook the Field as everyone cried out and then Yugi heard a grunting sound from Lee. Once the flash was cleared, a young woman with messy, long blue hair appeared, with a dark blue duster, black skirt, black boots, and purple top as she smiled, holding a Deck in her hands. "Yugi Mutoh, I must thank you for this distraction... and now I have a Deck that belongs to someone as skilled as the Mandarin Fist of Beijing..."  
"That's it! Lee is the famed Mandarin Fist! A Duelist who is said to be one of China's best, and a skilled martial artist who has one many competitions outside of Duel Monsters competitions. I can't believe I didn't put it together until now..." Duke replied as Yugi said "Hey! You're a Card Hunter, aren't you?"

The young woman in front of them smiled. "I am. My name is Uniqua. And, I must say it is good to have a famed Deck like this."  
Lee shook his head, standing up. "Hey! Give my Deck back to me, right now!"  
"Not a fat chance, Seiron."  
"Then I'll Duel you for it!" Yugi shouted as Uniqua and Lee turned at the same time to Yugi. Lee looked on and said "Yugi..."

Uniqua chuckled. "Alright, but under one condition! You Duel with how your Field is right now, Yugi! I want to see how well you can do with that kind of handicap!"  
"No problem." Yugi said. He then turned to Lee and gave him a thumbs up. "Don't worry, Lee, I'll get your Deck back. I promise."  
Lee looked a bit surprised, then nodded as he got up and rushed to the others as he looked on. Uniqua raised her right arm, her Duel Disk locking into the ready position as she smiled, slapping her Deck into her Duel Disk, her LP counter raising to 4000 points as she drew her first 5 cards. "It still was your turn, Yugi, so please... continue."

"With pleasure! Draw!" Yugi drew his next card, having 6 cards in his hand now. He began to look through his hand to figure out what to play next. He then nodded as he said "I will now sacrifice Torike, and I will summon..." Yugi closed his eyes as he took his card and said "Dark Magician Girl in Attack Mode!"

In a flash of light, Torike disappeared, and in his place was a young girl with blonde hair, a magician's cap that was lined with pink and blue, and she also had armor of the same colors, with a pendant in the center that had a star pentagram in the center, with parts of her breasts shown. She also had a pink skirt, and blue boots with pink lining along it as she also held a small staff in her hand, and winked when she appeared. Also noticable on her face were two pink oval-shapes on her cheeks, with a yellow choker and a small gem in the center.

DARK MAGICIAN GIRL  
Dark/Spellcaster/6/2000 ATK/1700 DEF  
Effect: This card's ATK increases for every "Dark Magician" or "Magician of Black Chaos" that exists in either player's Graveyard.

Téa saw the anxiety that came to Yugi's face as she said "Yugi... he's reminded of his other self... he feels he isn't ready to use Dark Magician Girl yet..."  
"Yeah, I noticed it too, Téa. Poor guy. He's acted strong for the rest of us to know Atem is gone, but he can't hide the fact he is scared that he won't do Atem's name justice..." Joey replied.  
Lee looked on in surprise as he thought 'Yugi... why are you helping me? I... I don't get it. I thought we were enemies...'

"Alright, I end my turn."  
"So... this is the famed skills of the King of Duelists? Senbei must have been weak to lose to someone like you, Yugi. My turn." Uniqua drew her next card, examining it as she smiled.  
"I'll get us started by playing Terraforming. This Magic Card lets me add 1 Field Magic Card from my Deck to my hand."

TERRAFORMING  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Add 1 Field Magic Card from your Deck to your hand. Then shuffle your Deck.

Uniqua pulled her Deck out, examining for a card as she acquired it, then shuffled her Deck, slapping it back into her Duel Disk as she showed her card to Yugi. "And now, I follow up with the Field Magic Card, Atlantis The Lost City!"

The slot on the side of Uniqua's Duel Disk opened as she slapped Atlantis inside and the Field Magic Card slot closed, as suddenly, water splashed around Yugi's feet and Uniqua's as she smiled, and a kind of underwater city appeared around them.

ATLANTIS THE LOST CITY (English name - A Legendary Ocean)  
Field Magic Card  
Effect: This card's name is treated as "Umi". Downgrade all WATER Attribute Monsters in both players' hands and on the Field by 1 Level. Increase the ATK and DEF of all WATER Attribute Monsters by 200 points.

Uniqua then smiled as she said "Next up! I play the Magic Card, Graceful Charity, which lets me draw 3 cards as long as I discard 2 from my hand!"  
With the play of Graceful Charity, Uniqua drew 3 cards, smiling as she then took two from her hand, discarding them to the Graveyard.

GRACEFUL CHARITY  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Draw 3 cards from your Deck, then discard any 2 cards from your hand to the Graveyard.

"And now, thanks to Atlantis, I play Catapult Turtle in Defense Mode!" Uniqua's summon brought out a large mechanical-looking turtle with a launcher on its' large green shell, near its' jet black legs and head as its' red eyes began to glow.

CATAPULT TURTLE  
Water/Aqua/5/1000 ATK/2000 DEF  
Effect: Offer 1 Monste ron your side of the Field as a Sacrifice to inflict Direct Damage equal to half of the Sacrificed Monster's ATK to your opponent's Life Points. Monsters used for a Sacrifice Summon or that are used as Sacrifices due to other cards' effects are excluded.

Uniqua then took a Magic Card from her hand and said "Next, I will play Premature Burial and Special Summon one of my discarded Monsters thanks to Graceful Charity! Come back to me, Genocide King Salmon!"  
With that, Uniqua's Life Points dropped to 3200 as then, a demonic beige-colored salmon appeared on the Field, cracking its' tail fint as it roared, its' red muscle-like tissue appearing as it hovered over the water.

GENOCIDE KING SALMON (English name - Terrorking Salmon)  
Water/Fish/5/2400 ATK/1000 DEF

"Genocide King Salmon! Attack Dark Magician Girl!" The large salmon charged right at Dark Magician Girl, then slashed her in half with its' tail, as Yugi watched Dark Magician Girl get destroyed, his LP dropped from 3800 to 3200, tied with Uniqua's as he looked saddened to see Dark Magician Girl destroyed.

"And to finish up, in Main Phase 2, I shall sacrifice Genocide King Salmon to Catapult Turtle's effect!" Uniqua added on as Catapult Turtle's launcher pulled back, ready to launch as Genocide King Salmon landed on Catapult Turtle, then was shot right at Yugi. Yugi's eyes shrunk back as Genocide King Salmon turned into a fireball, then smashed into Yugi as he cried out in pain, his LP dropping by half of Genocide King Salmon's ATK, which was 2600, meaning Yugi took 1300 points of damage, his LP dropped to 1900.

Yugi dropped to one knee, as Uniqua said "This is just what I expected. I now end my turn. And once I win, I'll also take your Deck and show our boss just how good I am! And to prove to Senbei he was just too weak to beat you in a Duel, Yugi. All you seem to me is scared!"

Slowly getting up, Yugi panted as he said "My turn. Draw." He drew his next card and saw he had Change of Heart. He looked in surprise as he smiled and said "To tell you the truth, I was scared for a moment, but not anymore, Uniqua! I play the Magic Card, Change of Heart! This Magic Card will allow me to take control of one of your Monsters for one turn!"

CHANGE OF HEART  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Select 1 Monster on your opponent's side of the Field, regardless of position and take control of it until the End Phase of your turn.

Catapult Turtle flashed and then reappeared on Yugi's side of the Field as Uniqua said "What?"  
"And now, I play Monster Reborn! Come back Dark Magician Girl!" In a flash of light, Dark Magician Girl appeared back on Yugi's side of the Field. Yugi then tapped a button on his Duel Disk, revealing his set card and saying with much bravery "Next, I play Sage's Stone! This Magic Card can only work if I have Dark Magician Girl in play... and it will allow me to play a card that was important to someone I know! I now get to Special Summon 1 Dark Magician from my Deck!"

SAGE'S STONE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Activate when you have a face-up "Dark Magician Girl" on your side of the Field. Special Summon a "Dark Magician" from your hand or Deck to the Field.

Yugi closed his eyes as he pulled his Deck out, and pulled out Dark Magician, slapping its' card onto his Duel Disk as he opened his eyes, his summon made complete as Dark Magician landed down next to Dark Magician Girl. Dark Magician had a very serious expression on his face, blue eyes, marks near his eyes, purple colored hair, with similar colored armor and magician's cape, accompanied by light purple markings, a sash down the middle as he also held a green staff in his hand.

DARK MAGICIAN  
Dark/Spellcaster/7/2500 ATK/2100 DEF

Yugi smiled as he said "Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, I know I am not Atem, but I hope you guys will trust me... and work with me as well as you did with him."  
Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both turned to Yugi, nodding as Yugi felt Dark Magician say to him "We had always believed in you, Yugi... we know you will do well.."  
"And we will be there with you, like all of your cards are!" Dark Magician Girl's voice ran in Yugi's head. Yugi smiled at that and said "Alright then! Dark Magician! Dark Magician Girl! Attack Uniqua's Life Points directly with Double Dark Magic Attack!"

Dark Magician thrusted his staff forward, as Dark Magician Girl rested her staff on her master's, both charging up an attack as they shot it at Uniqua, whose eyes shrunk back as she cried out, her LP dropped to 0 in one heartbeat due to the combined ATK of both Magicians being 4500 points. Yugi exhaled as Uniqua dropped to a knee. Yugi then spoke. "I normally take more time to play with a Duel, but since you had me going from my Duel with Lee, you sealed your own fate, Uniqua... now..."

Uniqua held Lee's Deck tightly until Lee appeared behind her, pinching a pressure point which caused her to fall unconscious as he took his Deck back. He then looked at Yugi and said "Yugi, why'd you help me? I mean..."  
"Because, just because you're a Duelist doesn't mean we can't be friends!" Yugi smiled as Lee blinked then chuckled at that. 'What a funny kid this Yugi is, but I can see why he is one of the greatest Duelists in the world.'

The next day, Yugi, Joey, Téa, Tristan, and Taro were all walking together as Taro said "Man, how cool was that to see Yugi using Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl like that! Did you think you were gonna do it, Yugi?"  
"No. In fact, I mostly had Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl in my Deck, with some of Atem's other cards, to remind me of him. But I sometimes was scared to play those two most of all. But once I remembered that Atem, with his Deck infused some with mine, trusted me and believed in me at times, that fear and anxiety faded."  
Téa smiled as she said "I am glad, Yugi.. we still do miss Atem, but that doesn't mean you should try to completely become like him to appeal to us. We care about you as you are, so I hope you stay yourself for a while to come."  
At her compliment, Yugi smiled, his cheeks a tad red as Tristan nodded. "Now that was a great Duel, even if it was short. Hey, whatever happened to Lee after he got his Deck?"  
"Dunno. He just disappeared after what Yugi said to him and that's all we saw and heard of 'im." Joey added, scratching his head.

"Hey! Yugi!"

Everyone stopped as they saw Lee, who was in a black school uniform. He landed on the ground and waved to them. "Yo."  
"Lee! What are you doing here? We thought you went back to China!" Yugi said.  
"Naw. I decided that being here has been such a blast that I wanna stick around here for a while. I know that it will be tough to be away from home... but I got some good friends to look out for me while I'm here in Japan."

Yugi blinked but smiled as he laughed and said "Alright! Don't forget you know where to find us!"  
"I won't. Even if I am a university student now, that doesn't mean we still can't be friends." Lee added on, as Yugi smiled and thought 'And so I've gotten another friend. I know deep down perhaps it wasn't the Millennium Puzzle that granted my wish for friends, but rather my own kind heart that did so. And I am glad for the friends I do have!'  
Lee chuckled as he smiled and then said "Yugi... you and me still got a score to settle soon."  
"You can count on that!" Yugi smiled also as both felt an intensity that was amazing, but fitting to most Duelists, a few to play at their max, to be the best they can be.

To Be Continued...


	4. Invasion of KaibaCorp Americ

Episode 4 - Invasion of KaibaCorp America! The Menace of the Fusion Deck

Yugi knew the Card Hunters had begun movement in Japan... but what he was unaware of is that they also had plans setting in motion across the ocean, in North America. To be exact, in KaibaCorp America's offices in California. Seto Kaiba, the short brown-haired, blue-eyed no-nonsense president of KaibaCorp, was once the rival of Atem, the other Yugi as some of Yugi's friends referred to him. Kaiba himself was a skillful Duelist, and a well known business man. He was also in Egypt the day Yugi had defeated Atem. Ever since that, he had headed back to America, to set a new venture into motion. He was walking down the hall to his office, just in a white business suit, with a light blue button down shirt under it, black dress shoes, and a dark blue tie, holding some papers as he overlooked the files carefully. He stepped into his office then set the file down as he heard a voice. "Is that what I think it is?"

Kaiba turned slowly to see his shaggy-haired younger brother, Mokuba, who also was his vice-president, standing right there. "It is, Mokuba. The plans towards Duel Academia are in that very same folder. The work on an island for its' location is being set up as well as finding worthy staff members... this could take a while... but to me, it will be worth it."  
"What made you want to do it in the first place, Seto?" Mokuba asked, in just a yellow t-shirt and dark blue jeans as he looked at the folder. "I mean, the idea of a school for game programmers and Duelists is a cool one, just what made you come up with it?"

Kaiba smiled as he sat down, loosening his tie some. "Call it an epiphany ever since I saw Yugi vs. Atem, Mokuba. I myself do not fully understand it, but it is an idea of the ages."  
Chuckling at how his brother referred to it, Mokuba smiled as he said "Well, I hope things go according to plan, Seto! It seems like this plan will take a couple of years to complete."  
"It will be worth it. But I need you to take a look at progress for the Duel Disk Generation 2 Version 2 and the Duel Coat in R&D." Kaiba replied as he began to examine other files. "I've other things to do."

Mokuba nodded, playfully saluting his brother as he said "I will get right on it, big brother! You can count on me!" He then rushed off as Kaiba looked out the window, thinking to himself. 'Yugi. I wonder what you are up to right now. I often wonder how well I would do against the real you... against Atem, the other Yugi, I had never been able to achieve victory, save for my desperate attempt at Duelist Kingdom... which I regret. I am sure you are doing well, since you are someone who was able to defeat all 3 God Cards...'

Kaiba closed his eyes and then a male voice rang out. "You know, your 'friend' Yugi is doing alright, Seto Kaiba. He's actually pretty strong, stronger than we anticipated."  
Quickly, Kaiba's eyes shot open as he turned to see a young man about his age with fiery red hair, and green eyes, along with a pair of glasses, a black duster, with a dark green t-shirt under it, and black pants and boots. The young man smiled, pushing his glasses up. "I bet you also wonder how I broke into this office undetected. Simple. I bypassed all of your security measures, had your security guards indisposed of, and also took some interesting information."

"Who the hell are you?"  
"My name is Mark. I am a Card Hunter. A pleasure to meet a famed Duelist like yourself, Kaiba-san." Mark nodded, then pushed his glasses up to the ridge of his nose.  
"A Card Hunter? What does that mean? Are you a part of some sect of the GHOULs we didn't know about?" Kaiba had a demanding tone in his voice, and his was one that demanded respect, but Mark just smiled and said "Those losers? We may have some of them in our ranks, sure, BUT we're better organized. We don't steal just rare cards... we take whole Decks in our quest."

Kaiba crossed his arms and scoffed. "Whole Decks, eh? And what is this 'quest' you are referring to?"  
"To make the game of Duel Monsters more intense. And... I am here from our forces in North America to take your Deck..." Mark smiled as he moved his right arm, showing his Duel Disk to Kaiba.

"What if I refuse?" Kaiba had asked. Mark smiled and held up his index finger. "You HAVE no choice in the matter. Because I got 2 things precious to you... the secrets of your technology, which I am sure your rivals will love... and your baby brother Mokuba is my hostage. So, you got to Duel me to get them back. If you win... your brother is released, AND I also give you the disk with your company's secrets. However... if I win... I get to keep the secrets AND I also will gain your Deck."

Kaiba glared at Mark, his fist shaking as he said "Alright. You have a deal. Meet me on the roof in 10 minutes, so I can then stomp you into the stone age, you worm."  
"Oh, I look forward to it." Mark smiled as he walked out of the room. Kaiba gritted his teeth as he then grabbed a briefcase near his desk, placing it on the desk, and opening it. Inside were a whole series of Duel Monsters cards, and a Duel Disk that was strapped to the roof of the briefcase. He then tossed his tie off... and with that, Mark had gone to the roof, arms crossed as he had two other Card Hunters in the back holding a gagged Mokuba.

Soon, as 10 minutes passed, Kaiba came through the elevator, this time with a long white jacket on, and mostly black underneath it, with 3 buckles on the arms, and two on the legs as he also had a belt with a silver KC insignia along the buckle, and around his neck was a Duel Monsters card, or so it seemed as he had his Duel Disk on.

"You will soon see what you get when you mess with my company AND with my little brother, Mark! How many Life Points will we be using?" Kaiba asked, glaring at Mark. Mark smiled and said "8000. Double what is normally done for tournaments. But this has started to become a new standard for us Card Hunters. But I will let you know, this will not be easy."  
"For you." Kaiba added on.  
"You think that, huh? You think you're unbeatable? Well, let's see about that." Mark flicked his right arm, his Duel Disk locking into the ready position, as Kaiba did the same thing and both glared and said "DUEL!", their Life Point counters raising from 0 to 8000.

Kaiba and Mark both drew their first 5 cards as Mark said "I will gladly start us off." Mark drew his sixth card, and said "I start by setting a Monster face-down. Then I will set 2 cards face-down to end my turn. Your move."  
"With pleasure! My turn! Draw!" Kaiba drew his sixth card and looked at his hand, smiling as he began to examine what he had to get this Duel really going in his favor. He saw one of his cards in hand and smiled as he said "I play Giant Germ in Attack Mode!"

With the summon Kaiba made, a germ-like creature with a purple and brown texture, and black around it appeared, hovering in front of Kaiba as he smiled.

GIANT GERM  
Dark/Demon/2/1000 ATK/100 DEF  
Effect: When this card is sent to the Graveyard as a result of Battle, inflict 500 points od Direct Damage to your opponent's Life Points. You can also take any other copies of "Giant Germ" that is in your Deck and Special Summon them to the Field in face-up Attack Mode. Your Deck is then shuffled.

'Soon, I'll make sure your Deck is dealt with for good.' Kaiba took another card in his hand and said "I will next set a card face-down and end my turn." Kaiba smiled, aware of what his strategy was. He planned to use his infamous Trap Card, Crush Card, to poison Mark's Deck with a virus, and thus weakening his Deck.

CRUSH CARD  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: This card can only be activated when a DARK Attribute Monster on your side of the Field with an ATK of 1000 points or less is destroyed as a result of Battle. Your opponent must then send all Monster Cards in his or her Deck, on his or her side of the Field, or in his or her hand with a base ATK of 1500 points or more to the Graveyard.

"Turn end!"  
Mark drew his next card as he said "Alright... I'll bite. So... you plan to infect my Deck with your Crush Card, don't you? Like I said, I'll bite." Mark pushed his glasses up as he then said "I will now flip up my face-down Monster. Come forth, Curtain of the Dark Ones!"  
A red curtain appeared, with ghoulish hands extending out of it as something under the curtain hissed. Kaiba blinked then smiled. "Small fry..."

CURTAIN OF THE DARK ONES  
Dark/Spellcaster/2/600 ATK/500 DEF

"Now... I will play Polymerization from my hand, and fuse together my Curtain of the Dark Ones, with the Mystical Elf in my hand! Come forth, my great Monster! Kamionwizard in Attack Mode!"  
A flash of light overcame Curtain of the Dark Ones, then in its' place came forth a monster with a mask over its' face, with red eyes and black lips, a black border around the mask. This Monster also had black and red armor, a black cape, and a scythe as it cackled demonically.

POLYMERIZATION  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Send 2 or more Fusion-Material Monsters in your hand or on your side of the Field to the Graveyard in order to Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster from your Fusion Deck to the Field. A Fusion Summon is considered a Special Summon.

MYSTICAL ELF  
Light/Spellcaster/4/800 ATK/2000 DEF

KAMIONWIZARD  
Dark/Spellcaster-Fusion/4/1300 ATK/1100 DEF  
Fusion of "Mystical Elf" + "Curtain of the Dark Ones"

"Ha! Another small fry! Why suicide your whole Deck just to prove a point? You must realize you can't beat me and want to give up by doing this." Kaiba said, smirking.  
"No. I will show you my Deck is made to handle your kind of strategy. I will play now, this Permanent Magic Card. Activate Sinister Justice!"  
The first face-down card flipped up onto the Field with an image of a man who seemed to be of old European signing a contract with a demonic figure behind him.

SINISTER JUSTICE  
Permanent Magic Card  
Effect: While this card is on the Field, Level 4 or lower Fusion Monsters can attack the turn they are Fusion Summoned. Whenever a Level 4 or lower Fusion Monster inflicts Battle Damage during the Battle Phase, increase your Life Points by 800 points.

"That same card like that rat Big 3 used..." Kaiba gritted his teeth.  
"Oh, but I am not done there yet. I now play Leading Question."  
Another Permanent Magic Card flipped on Mark's side of the Field with Sinister Justice, this one with an image of the Dark Ruler, Hades, his left hand clenched and glowing blue as if he was dictating something...

LEADING QUESTION  
Permanent Magic Card  
Effect: Whenever a Level 4 or lower Fusion Monster on your side of the Field battles an opposing Monster, its' ATK is increased by 800 points during the Damage Step.

Kaiba saw that card as Mark then said "No rest for the weary. Kamionwizard... attack Giant Germ!" Kamionwizard responsed quickly to Mark's command, charging right at Giant Germ, his scythe glowing purple, his ATK shooting up from 1300 to 2100 as he slashed Giant Germ in half, destroying it. Kaiba covered his eyes, as bits of Giant Germ shot all over, his Life Points dropped to 6900 LP, as Mark smiled and said "And thanks to Sinister Justice, my Life Points will go up by 800 points now..." Soon as that was said, Mark's Life Points went up to 8800.

Kaiba smirked and said "Very well! Trap Card, activate! CRUSH CARD! This Trap Card will infect your Deck with a virus and all of your Monsters in your hand, your Deck, and your Field that have a base ATK of 1500 points or more will be destroyed and sent to the Graveyard!"

Mark nodded. "As you wish..." He pulled his Deck out and pulled 2 cards out, discarding it to the Graveyard.  
"What? 2 cards! How?" Kaiba shouted in shock as Mark smiled. "My bigger Monsters are not part of my main Deck. Think of it..."  
"Not... of your main Deck?" Kaiba blinked as Mark smiled. "That's right."

"Feh! But since you destroyed Giant Germ, you will lose 500 Life Points!" Soon, mist wrapped around Mark, as his Life Point Counter dropped to 8300 points as Kaiba pulled his Deck out and then slapped another copy of Giant Germ onto his Duel Disk as he said "And also! I get to Special Summon another copy of Giant Germ in my Deck, and shuffle my Deck!" Kaiba pulled his Deck out, shuffling it then placing it back in his Duel Disk.

"Very well. I end my turn... and I have these 2 cards in my hand to thank for it." Mark replied, smiling. "A good start... let's see how else it goes..."

"I'll show you how it goes. My turn! Draw!" Kaiba drew his next card, and now had 5 cards as he took one card and said "I will now sacrifice my Giant Germ and I will play Kaiser Glider in Attack Mode!"

In place of Giant Germ on Kaiba's side of the Field came a golden metal-esque dragon with metal wings spreading out, its' orange eyes glowing as it roared.

KAISER GLIDER  
Light/Dragon/6/2400 ATK/2200 DEF  
Effect: This card is not destroyed as a result of Battle when this card battles with a Monster with the same ATK. When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, return 1 Monster on the Field to its' owner's hand.

"Kaiser Glider, attack Kamionwizard!" Kaiser Glider charged at Kamionwizard, despite its' ATK going up by 800 points to 2100 thanks to Leading Question, and slashed it in half, destroying it and dropping Mark's Life Points by 300 points to 8000 points. Kaiba smiled as he took another card and said "I will set one card face-down! Turn end!"

"Very well. Impressive manuever, Kaiba-san. I admire your skills as a Duelist, but I have to do this. It is what I am meant to do. Let us continue." He drew his next card from his Deck, looking at his hand, then said "I will now play the Magic Card, Pot of Greed. This, as you know, lets me draw 2 cards from my Deck, thus it will allow me to increase my hand's size." He drew two cards swiftly, having four cards as he then said "And next, I play the Field Magic Card, Fusion Gate."

The Field Magic Card slot on Mark's Duel Disk opened as he slid Fusion Gate into it and it closed. As it closed, his Duel Disk began to light with the acknowledgement his Field Magic Card was in play as Mark smiled.

FUSION GATE  
Field Magic Card  
Effect: As long as this card remains on the Field, a Fusion Monster can be Fusion Summoned without using "Polymerization". The Fusion-Material Monsters used in the Fusion are not placed in the Graveyard, but are removed from play.

"And now... I will remove these two Monsters from my hand... M-Warrior #1 and M-Warrior #2, and thus Special Summon my Fusion Monster, Karbonala Warrior in Attack Mode!"  
A flash of light appeared on Mark's side of the Field and a warrior with dark purple armor with spikes on the shoulder armor, a sword in his left hand, a shield in his right appeared, slashing the air, landing gracefully in front of Mark.

KARBONALA WARRIOR  
Earth/Warrior-Fusion/4/1500 ATK/1200 DEF  
Fusion of "M-Warrior #1" + "M-Warrior #2"

M-WARRIOR #1  
Earth/Warrior/3/1000 ATK/500 DEF

M-WARRIOR #2  
Earth/Warrior/3/500 ATK/1000 DEF

"Heh! You're still at the disadvantage! You now only have 1 card in your hand."  
"And it is a card I needed... to help prove my true colors. I play the Equip Magic Card, Fusion Weapon!"  
Karbonala Warrior's sword disappeared and in its' place on his arm was a large cannon with a pincer-shaped launcher. The weapon looked almost techno-organic as Karbonala Warrior slashed the air, his ATK shooting up to 3000 points, his DEF shooting up to 2700!

FUSION WEAPON  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: This card can only be equipped to a Fusion Monster of Level 6 or less. Increase the ATK and DEF of the Equipped Monster by 1500 points.

"What? What is that Magic Card?" Kaiba asked. "And how did your Level 4 Fusion, such a weakling, get such a power boost?"  
"Simple, Kaiba-san. Fusion Weapon works perfectly for my Deck, since my best Monsters are Level 6 and lower Fusions which it works for only. And as I said... the best cards in my Deck are not part of my main Deck. Have you figured out what my Deck's theme is?"

"Fusion... your Deck's theme is Fusion! That's why your Deck was unaffected by Crush Card when I used it.." Kaiba replied, glaring.  
"Exactly. My Deck is a Fusion Deck, and you are going to feel the menace of my Deck! But... I will not target Kaiser Glider due to its' effect. And thus... I end my turn."

'He left his hand empty, even if it powered up his Karbonala Warrior's ATK and DEF. And if I attack it, Leading Question will raise its' ATK by 800 points more to 3800. My Kaiser Glider would be decimated. I'll have to destroy that somehow...' "My turn! Draw!" Kaiba drew his next card and said "I will now turn Kaiser Glider to Defense Mode, then I shall play Graceful Charity!"  
"Perfect timing." Mark smiled as Kaiba blinked. "Activate Trap Card! Appropriate!"

APPROPRIATE  
Continuous Trap Card  
Effect: You can activate this card when your opponent draws a card outside of his or her Draw Phase. Each time your opponent draws a card outside of his or her Draw Phase, you draw 2 cards.

Kaiba's eyes shrunk once he saw Mark's Trap Card, as Kaiba said "You..."  
"It's simple, Kaiba-san. You will draw 3 cards. And with Appropriate, each time you draw a card outside of the Draw Phase, I shall draw 2 cards. So I will get 6 cards thanks to you play Graceful Charity, so I appreciate this."

Kaiba gritted his teeth, drawing 3 cards, as Mark drew 6 cards, his whole hand replenished. Kaiba looked at his hand, and then saw one of his best Monsters, Blue Eyes White Dragon, and the rarest card in his Deck. Only 4 copies of the Blue Eyes existed... and Kaiba possessed 3 of the 4. He knew Blue Eyes would not help him here since Karbonala Warrior's ATK would go up thanks to Leading Question. But... he noticed another card in his hand and nodded.

BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON  
Light/Dragon/8/3000 ATK/2500 DEF

He took his Blue Eyes White Dragon from his hand, along with another Monster, Versago the Destroyer as he said "I will now discard these 2 cards from my hand to the Graveyard thanks to the effect of Graceful Charity, then set another card down. But that doesn't mean I am done. I play my set Trap Card, Ring of Destruction!"

VERSAGO THE DESTROYER  
Dark/Demon/3/1100 ATK/900 DEF  
Effect: You can use this card to substitute for any one Fusion-Material Monster in a Fusion. You cannot substitute for any other Fusion-Material Monsters in the current Fusion with this card's effect.

RING OF DESTRUCTION  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: Destroy 1 face-up Monster Card on the Field and inflict Direct Damage to both players equal to the destroyed Monster Card's ATK.

Mark looked as a gigantic ring slammed around Karbonala Warrior's neck, and then grenades appeared around it.  
"Who is suiciding now, Kaiba? You destroy my Karbonala Warrior, and you lose 3000 Life Points also."  
"Think again! I play this Quickplay Magic Card from my hand! Activate Ring of Defense!"

RING OF DEFENSE  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: When this card is activated, any Damage that is not Battle Damage is reduced to 0 until the End Phase of the turn.

With that, a ring with 4 shields circling around it appeared in front of Kaiba as he said "Say good-bye to your super-charged small fry! Game over!"  
The grenades on the Ring of Destruction ignited and destroyed Karbonala Warrior as Mark gritted his teeth, his Life Points dropped to 5000 as Kaiba smiled and said "Turn end as of now."

Mark chuckled. "Bravo. I expected nothing else from you. But that doesn't mean I am through yet. My turn is now." Casually, he drew his next card, and said "I will place one Monster face-down, and then place one card face-down. Turn end."

'He set a card down also... what does this mean? Another Trap Card? It matters not. I will defeat him and make him pay!'

"My turn! Draw!" Kaiba drew his next card, seeing he had Restore The Dead. He smiled as he said "I play the Magic Card, Monster Reincarnation!"  
A flashing light appeared on Kaiba's side of the Field as he said "Now, I will discard 1 card from my hand, and thus place 1 Monster Card that's in my Graveyard to my hand!"

MONSTER REINCARNATION (Japanese name: Restore Dead)  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Discard 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard. Add 1 Monster Card in your Graveyard to your hand.

Kaiba then grabbed his Blue Eyes White Dragon and said "But I am not done there! I will now play Monster Reborn! Come back to me, Giant Germ!"

One of Kaiba's two Giant Germs then appeared onto the Field, right next to Kaiser Glider as Kaiba finally added "NOW! I SACRIFICE BOTH MY MONSTERS! COME OUT! BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON, MY ULTIMATE SERVANT!"  
Kaiser Glider and Giant Germ disappeared in flashes of light as Kaiba slapped down the card of his favorite Monster onto his Duel Disk. A majestic dragon, with a bluish-white body, long wings, a long tail, a massive set of claws, and blue eyes that seemed to glow. Blue Eyes roared as Kaiba said "Blue Eyes! Attack his face-down Monster!"

Blue Eyes's mouth charged with a massive spark of energy, as if the Earth itself rumbled. Kaiba then said "Burst Stream of Destruction!"  
Blue Eyes then shot a massive stream of energy right at Mark's set Monster. When the card was destroyed, it was a small, invisible, cupid-esque angel with a halo over it's head, a bow in one hand with an arrow in the other as well as small wings.

"What was that Monster?"  
"Skelengel. Thanks for destroying it. With its' Flip Effect, I get to draw 1 card from my Deck." 

SKELENGEL  
Light/Angel/2/900 ATK/400 DEF  
Effect: Flip: Draw 1 card from your Deck.

Mark drew his card and smiled. "But it is a pleasure to see the Blue Eyes White Dragon. I knew you would call it out eventually... wonderful! Amazing!"  
Kaiba gritted his teeth and said "I will now play the Permanent Magic Card, Two Man Cell Battle!"

TWO MAN CELL BATTLE  
Permanent Magic Card  
Effect: During each player's End Phase, the turn player can Special Summon 1 Level 4 Normal Monster from his or her hand to the Field.

"And I end my turn, and thanks to Two Man Cell Battle, I will Special Summon 1 Level 4 Normal Monster from my hand. My Monster of choice is La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp!"

Kaiba's Special Summon caused a green monster with gold gauntlets along its' wrists, bands around his upper arm, and one around its' neck. It also had gold earrings, and a fez-like hat with blue along the upper region with red lining underneath it. The Monster also had a smirk on it's face, and a long black moustache. This Monster also had its' arms crossed over its' chest as it smirked, chuckling as it hovered in the air, with no legs it seemed... its' lower region being nothing but a mist.

LA JINN THE MYSTICAL GENIE OF THE LAMP  
Dark/Demon/4/1800 ATK/1000 DEF

"Not bad. My turn." Mark drew his next card, and saw he had more Fusion Material Monsters. He then said "I will now play my set Trap Card, Call of the Haunted. Come back to me, Karbonala Warrior."  
With a purple mist, Karbonala Warrior appeared on the Field again, slashing the air. Mark's hand size was now at 5. He looked at his hand and then smiled as he took two cards from his hand and said "I will now remove these two Monsters from play!"

With that, a purplish creature with a golden crown, a sash around its' chest, a staff in its' hand and a grin, as well as an insect-like creature with teal skin, orange markings, yellow eyes, spikes along its' shoulders and such appeared on the Field, spiralling into one another. "Lord of the Lamp, Invader from Another Dimension! FUSE TOGETHER!"

LORD OF THE LAMP  
Dark/Demon/4/1400 ATK/1200 DEF

INVADER FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION  
Dark/Demon/4/950 ATK/1400 DEF

With the Fusion made complete, a large yellow dragon with green eyes appeared, and riding on its' back was a clown, whom held a scythe and had yellow and green shoulder amr, and red robes underneath it as it cackled, slashing the air. "My strongest Fusion Monster! Soul Hunter!"

SOUL HUNTER  
Dark/Demon/6/2200 ATK/1800 DEF  
Fusion of "Lord of the Lamp" + "Invader from Another Dimension"

"And to add onto it, I will now play Fusion Weapon!"  
In place of its' scythe, Soul Hunter had the Fusion Weapon cannon on its' arm, its' ATK shooting up to 3700 points, and its' DEF shooting up to 3300 points! Kaiba then said "So? You will not do the most damage to me that way."

Mark smiled and said "Who said I was done? I play my set Equip Magic Card! Magical Clone!"  
Mark's Life Points dropped from 5000 points to 4200, as then out of nowhere, a black, white, and grey copy of Fusion Weapon appeared on Karbonala Warrior, its' ATK/DEF going to 3000/2700.

MAGICAL CLONE  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: Pay 800 Life Points when you activate this card. Select 1 other Equip Magic Card on your side of the Field. As long as this card is face-up on the Field, this card copies the text of the chosen Equip Magic Card.

Kaiba's eyes shrunk back as Mark said "Soul Hunter! Attack Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Soul Hunter aimed at Blue Eyes White Dragon, the Fusion Weapon charging up as it then shot a blast that destroyed the Blue Eyes White Dragon, cackling as the Blue Eyes White Dragon roared before its' body was destroyed, Kaiba looking on in shock, his Life Points dropped to 6200. Mark then said "And now... Karbonala Warrior! Attack La Jinn!"

Karbonala Warrior locked onto La Jinn, its' Fusion Weapon copy charging up, then Leading Question began to glow as well. Mark thusly said "And thanks to Leading Question, my Karbonala Warrior's ATK goes up to 3800 points! NOW! ATTACK!"

The Fusion Weapon copy Karbonala Warrior had fired, destroying La Jinn as Kaiba cried out, a massive explosion overtaking his body. Soon, the explosion cleared, and Kaiba was on his knee, panting heavily, his Life Points at 3200 as Mark's went up to 5000 as he said "And thanks to Sinister Justice, I now have 800 more Life Points. And I end my turn. But I have no Monsters to use with Two Man Cell Battle.."

Mokuba shook with fear as one of Mark's minions chuckled and said "Man, the boss is on a roll!"  
"He is doing well. I'm sure that he will win next turn..."

Kaiba panted heavily, looking down at the ground. He looked at Mokuba and thought 'Mokuba... I cannot do it... I have tried everything I can... I... I...' Kaiba then closed his eyes, gritting his teeth until he then remembered the Duel Yugi had with Atem. How he had felt Yugi wouldn't have succeeded in beating the God Cards. He then remembered that outstanding miracle when Yugi had defeated the God Cards.

'He... Yugi was able to do something no one else could have done. He was about to defeat the 3 strongest cards in all of Duel Monsters as well as beating one of the strongest Duelists I've seen... I... I cannot give up! Yugi wouldn't give up! Like you, Yugi, I will fight with all my heart! But... the odds of drawing a card I need are bad at the moment. I... I must believe I can. I trust my Deck... so I can do this!'

Kaiba got up and said "My turn! Draw!" Bravely, Kaiba drew his next card, seeing he had Blue Eyes Shining Dragon... one of his strongest cards, although it didn't do him any good at the time since he didn't have the proper requirements for it.

BLUE EYES SHINING DRAGON  
Light/Dragon/10/3000 ATK/2500 DEF  
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned expect by offering 1 "Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon" on your side of the Field as a Sacrifice. Increase the ATK of this card by 300 points for each Dragon-Type Monster in your Graveyard. You can negate the effect of Magic, Trap, and Effect Monster Cards that designate this card as a target.

Kaiba noticed some other cards and saw he had Card of Demise, but his hand had 4 cards. It'd do him no good. He nodded as he said "I will now play the Magic Card, Heavy Storm! This torrent will destroy all Magic and Trap Cards on both sides of the Field!"

HEAVY STORM  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Destroy all Magic and Trap Cards on the Field.

A massive burst of wind shot around the Field, blowing away all of the Magic and Trap Cards on the Field as Karbonala Warrior was destroyed, since Call of the Haunted was destroyed as well! And Soul Hunter's ATK was dropped to 2200 once more. Kaiba looked at his hand and then he took another card and said "I now play Premature Burial! This Equip Magic Card will allow me to pay 800 Life Points AND Special Summon 1 Monster to my side of the Field that is in my Graveyard!"

Kaiba's LP dropped down to 2400 points thanks to Premature Burial. Kaiba's Monster of choice was Blue Eyes White Dragon, which roared as it spread out its' wings. Kaiba's hand was right now 2 cards as he said "And now I play Card of Demise!"

CARD OF DEMISE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Draw cards until you have 5 cards in your hand. Then 5 turns later, you must discard your entire hand to the Graveyard.

Kaiba had only 1 card, so he quickly drew 4 cards, and smiled as he said "Next, I play Pot of Greed!" Kaiba quickly drew 2 cards, his hand size now 6 as he smiled, seeing his other Blue Eyes White Dragons AND Polymerization! He nodded and said "I will now play Polymerization, and send my Blue Eyes White Dragon to the Graveyard along with the 2 in my hand and call out my strongest Monster! COME OUT! Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

In a flash of light, Blue Eyes White Dragon roared, and then a silhouette of a 3-headed dragon appeared on the Field. And revealed was the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! It was like an ordinary Blue Eyes, save for it had 3 heads, and it roared loudly as it landed down on the ground in front of Kaiba.

BLUE EYES ULTIMATE DRAGON  
Light/Dragon/12/4500 ATK/3800 DEF  
Fusion of "Blue Eyes White Dragon" + "Blue Eyes White Dragon" + "Blue Eyes White Dragon"

Kaiba smiled as he said "And I am not done there... now! I will sacrifice Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to make another Special Summon!"  
Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon's body began to crack, then it exploded and in its' place was a Blue Eyes White Dragon which had a metallic base... a blue orb in the center of its' body, along on its' wings as it landed down in front of Kaiba. Mark looked on, his eyes widened as he said "Wh-what is that card!"

"Blue Eyes Shining Dragon, fool. This is the strongest form the Blue Eyes can take. And here is why. For every Dragon-Type Monster Card that exists in my Graveyard, its' ATK shoots up by 300 points for each one. And I have 5 in there! My 3 Blue Eyes White Dragons, my Kaiser Glider, and my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! So that means Blue Eyes Shining Dragon gains 1500 points!"

Blue Eyes Shining Dragon's ATK shot up, just as Kaiba had said, by 1500 points, going to 4500, as strong as the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Kaiba then smiled as he held up another card. "Equip Magic Card! Dragon Treasure!"

DRAGON TREASURE  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: A Dragon-Type Monster equipped with this cards increases its' ATK and DEF by 300 points.

Blue Eyes Shining Dragon's body began to glow, as it was raised to 4800 points. Kaiba quickly thrusted his hand forward and said "Blue Eyes Shining Dragon! Attack Soul Hunter!" Blue Eyes Shining Dragon's mouth began to glow a sparkling whitish-blue as Kaiba then said "Shining Nova Burst!"

Blue Eyes Shining Dragon then shot a fireball of energy right at Soul Hunter, destroying it in one blow as the clown on the back of the dragon cackled as it exploded into nothing. Kaiba smiled, as Mark cried out some, his LP dropping by 3100 as he said "Damn..."

Kaiba smiled as he said "I will next set 2 cards face-down... to end my turn."  
"Very well." Mark replied, drawing his next card as he said "I will now set one Monster face-down, then set one card face-down. And thus... I end my turn."  
Kaiba looked on and said "This Duel is going to be over soon, Mark. My Blue Eyes Shining Dragon is at quite a level of power now. So I believe I shall put you out of your misery!" He drew his next card then tapped a button on his Duel Disk. "Trap Card, activate! DRAGON RAGE!"

DRAGON RAGE (English name: Dragon's Rage)  
Continuous Trap Card  
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the Field, when Dragon-Type Monsters on your side of the Field attack with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of your opponent's Defense Mode Monsters, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your Life Points.

"I am sure a smart person like you is aware of Dragon Rage's effect, Mark. As of now, my Dragon gains the power of Trample, meaning if your Monster's DEF is weaker than its' ATK, and I am sure it is... it will easily blow a big chunk of your Life Points away, and I will win this Duel. Now! Blue Eyes Shining Dragon!" Blue Eyes Shining's mouth began to sparkle once again as Mark smirked and said "Quickplay Magic Card! Cyclone! Target and destroy Dragon Rage!"

A blast of wind wrapped around Dragon Rage, then shattered it into pieces, but BESD's attack continued as it shot an attack right at Mark's face-down Monster, which exploded and was revealed to be Cyber Pod! A mechanical-looking pod or jar of some kind with a green cybernetic optic feed in the center, with an orange border and a hazard marker appeared, then Mark said "I bet you also know Cyber Pod's effect, Kaiba-san. You attacked it, and thus you get it as well as I!"

Cyber Pod's optic sensor began to glow, then shot a laser, smashing right through Blue Eyes Shining Dragon, and Kaiba couldn't negate it since the effect wasn't a targetted effect. It affected all Monsters on the Field. Blue Eyes Shining Dragon then exploded as Cyber Pod shattered also.

CYBER POD (English name: Cyber Jar)  
Dark/Rock/3/900 ATK/900 DEF  
Effect: Flip: Destroy all Monsters on the Field. Both players then pick up 5 cards from the tops of their respective Decks and Special Summon all Level 4 or lower Monster Cards among them on the Field in face-up Attack Mode or face-down Defense Mode. The rest of the cards picked up are added to their respective hands.

Kaiba and Mark both picked up 5 cards as Mark smiled and said "Out of my Level 4 or lower Monsters, I got just 2. I'll set these two Monsters face-down."  
"Very well." Kaiba added on. "Then I shall Special Summon these Monsters! Come out! Element Dragon! Twin-Headed Behemoth! Masked Dragon!"

In flashs of light on his side of the Field, Kaiba had all sorts of Dragons on the Field. The first one Special Summoned, Element Dragon, had a small baby-like face, with orange hair around its' neck, two yellow horns, an underbelly of the same color, long wings and a long tail, with a soft light peach for its' scales, and blue eyes appeared, smiling.

ELEMENT DRAGON  
Light/Dragon/4/1500 ATK/1200 DEF  
Effect: This Monster gets the following effect(s) while there is a Monster(s) with the following Attribute(s) on the Field:  
-FIRE: Increase the ATK of this card by 500 points.  
-WIND: If this card destroyed one of your opponent's Monsters as a result of Battle, it can attack once again in a row.

The second Special Summoned Monster had purple scales, with black spikes along its' shoulders, shorter wings than Element Dragon, with yellow under its' arms, which where its' hands were heads! The first head on the left side had blue eyes and a blue mouth and horn, the second one had red eyes, a red horn, and a red mouth, along with black and yellow armor along its' sides, ankles, and down its' waist.

TWIN-HEADED BEHEMOTH  
Wind/Dragon/3/1500 ATK/1200 DEF  
Effect: If this Monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, this Monster is Special Summoned with an ATK and DEF of 1000 points during the End Phase of the turn. This effect can be used only once during the current Duel.

And the last Dragon had white for much of its' body, save for red along its' under belly and face, its' face looking like a mask, with a toothy grin, its' tail on the ground, its' wings folded. Kaiba was also known for his Dragons besides his Blue Eyes White Dragons, and thus, Mark would see it.

MASKED DRAGON  
Fire/Dragon/4/1400 ATK/1100 DEF  
Effect: When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard as a result of Battle, you can Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type Monster with an ATK of 1500 points or less to your side of the Field from your Deck. Then shuffle your Deck.

Kaiba smiled, as his Element Dragon's ATK went up to 2000 points due to there being a Fire Attribute Monster on the Field thanks to Masked Dragon. He then said "Element Dragon, attack Mark's face-down Monster on the left!" Element Dragon spreaded its' wings and shot at Mark's set card, shooting a blast of light from its' mouth, destroying Mark's Monster, whom was a young girl, with blue robes over her body, her arms and legs in red robes, with brown boots, her magenta hair tied into a ponytail and she had a yellow sash around her waist, with a staff in her hand with a crescent moon-shape on the top. Her staff began to glow just before she exploded.

Kaiba looked on and said "Magician of Faith..."  
"Correct, Kaiba-san. And with her Flip Effect, I can add 1 Magic Card from my Graveyard to my hand once more." A face-down card slid out of Mark's Graveyard slot and he added it to his hand, smiling.

MAGICIAN OF FAITH  
Light/Spellcaster/1/300 ATK/400 DEF  
Effect: Flip: Select 1 Magic Card from your Graveyard and return it to your hand.

"Hmph! It won't matter since Element Dragon can attack again due to there being a Wind Attribute Monster on my side of the Field and its' second effect kicks in! Element Dragon! Attack Mark's second face-down Monster!" Element Dragon charged once more as Kaiba this time called out the name of its attack. "Burst of Light!" Element Dragon then shot its attack at the second card Mark had on the Field, and it exploded, revealing a second Magician of Faith as Mark smiled and said "Thank you."

Another card slid out of his Graveyard and he added it to his hand, smiling.  
"Damn. But that doesn't mean I can't attack you directly! Twin-Headed Behemoth! Masked Dragon! Double Direct Attack!" Both of Kaiba's remaining Dragons shot a combined stream of fire right at Mark, who took the attack, his Life Points dropping to 100 Life Points as he still remained calm.

"Ha ha ha ha haa! It seems the mighty have fallen, Mark! What will you do now? Your Life Points are at 100 points, and you can't risk destroying my Dragons in Battle! So now... I end my turn!"  
Mark smiled. "You would think that, wouldn't you? My turn." Mark drew his next card, and showed Fusion Gate, and said "I will play Fusion Gate once more!"

Mark's Field Magic Card slot opened as he slid Fusion Gate back into it, smiling as he had other Monsters from earlier, but for now... he needed a new strategy as he said "Very well. I will set a Monster down, then I shall play the Magic Card, Double Spell!"  
Kaiba's eye shrunk at Mark's play, as he remembered the card being used by Yugi's other self, Atem, to defeat him in the Battle City Semi-Finals... even if its' effect had been modified, it brought that memory of his old rival back!

DOUBLE SPELL  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Discard 1 Magic Card in your hand. Select 1 Magic Card from your opponent's Graveyard and activate it from the Graveyard as your Magic Card.

"I will take this Magic Card I had in my hand..." Mark quickly took a card from his hand and slid it into his Graveyard as he said "And now I play the Magic Card, Pot of Greed, from your Graveyard thanks to Double Spell!" Quickly Mark drew 2 cards as he smiled and said "Now... the fun begins. I will send Feral Imp and Snakeyashi from my hand and remove them from play, thanks to Fusion Gate's effect!"

With that call, Mark's two Fusion-Material Monsters appeared. One, Feral Imp, had green fur, black eyes, small wings, and a pink horn, spikes on its wings, elbows, and claws as it roared.

FERAL IMP  
Dark/Demon/4/1300 ATK/1400 DEF

The second Monster, Snakeyashi, appeared to be a palm tree, with a face and two iris-less eyes, with a snake like formation. The leaves it had were red, and parts of its' skin/bark was a light orange brown as it hissed.

SNAKEYASHI  
Earth/Plant/4/1000 ATK/1200 DEF

They then began to flash as one and in their place was a large red rose with green vines and thorns around it, the petals closed. Kaiba blinked and said "Getting desperate, are we? I mean, your Rose is noteworthy, but surely, you cannot be serious."

"Oh, but I am. This is yet another Fusion of mine. Kaiba-san, meet the Rose Spectre of Dunn!" The petals of the rose then opened as a young woman, greenish skin and black and greenish hair, yellow eyes, blood red lips and the same kind of colors covering her upper body below her neck appeared, smiling devilishly.

ROSE SPECTRE OF DUNN  
Dark/Plant-Fusion/6/2000 ATK/1800 DEF  
Fusion of "Feral Imp" + "Snakeyashi"

"And since it is a Level 6... I will now play Fusion Weapon again!" Suddenly, Fusion Weapon had infused into Rose Spectre of Dunn's right arm, as it crackled, raising her ATK and DEF to 3500 points and 3300 points. "Rose Spectre of Dunn is strong, but it'd be bad if I attacked your Monsters. So next up... I will play the Magic Card, Dark Core!"

DARK CORE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Discard 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard to remove 1 face-up Monster Card on the Field from play.

"And... the target of my Dark Core... will be Masked Dragon!" Suddenly, a sparking black orb of energy wrapped around Masked Dragon, sucking it into the sphere's range, then the sphere itself was gone... with Masked Dragon included! Kaiba knew Dark Core's effect well since he ran it in his Deck as Mark then said "And now... even if Twin-Headed Behemoth will come back, Rose Spectre of Dunn's ATK is enough to drop your Life Points to 400 points! Now! Rose Spectre, attack Twin-Headed Behemoth with Fusion Weapon Blast!"

Rose Spectre of Dunn targetted Twin-Headed Behemoth then charged up, and fired right at Twin-Headed Behemoth, destroying it with one shot, its' 3500 ATK plowing through Twin-Headed Behemoth's ATK of 1500 and it dropped Kaiba's LP to 400 points as Mark then said "And I will end my turn now!"  
"Which means I shall return Twin-Headed Behemoth to the Field!" Twin-Headed Behemoth appeared onto the Field, in Attack Mode as Mark blinked. "Attack Mode? You must be suicidal."

"No. I can feel I will win this Duel in my next draw, Mark." Kaiba had said, clenching his cards.  
Mark smiled and said "Well, you must be going crazy if you think it is possible you can draw a card that will allow you to beat me... but you can try. I have had fun in this Duel, Kaiba-san, but it is over..."

Kaiba looked at his Deck, closing his eyes as he said "Please... give me what I need..." Kaiba slowly drew his next card, eyes still closed as he then opened them and saw he had indeed drawn something that would help him win this Duel. He smiled and said "I got a perfect card to win this Duel, like I said. I play the Magic Card, Dragon's Gunfire!"  
Mark's eyes widened as he said "No way!"

DRAGON'S GUNFIRE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: You can activate this card only when you have a face-up Dragon-Type Monster on your side of the Field. Select and activate 1 of the following effects:  
-Inflict 800 points of Direct Damage to your opponent's Life Points.  
-Destroy 1 face-up Monster with a DEF of 800 points or less.

"And I will use Dragon's Gunfire's first effect! Twin-Headed Behemoth, use it! Fireball Strike!" Twin-Headed Behemoth's mouths began to burst with a stream of fire as they shot it right at Mark who cried out, his LP dropped to 0 as his minions looked on in shock as Kaiba said "And that is game."

Mark stood there, panting as he said "I will keep my promise, Kaiba-san. We are people of our word, unlike the GHOULS. You two! Let him go!"

Mark's minions, despite the expressions on their faces, let go of Mokuba, as well as untying and ungagging him. Mark then pulled a disk from his coat and threw it to Kaiba. Kaiba caught it as he said "Thank you..."  
"You're welcome. But trust us... there will be others... we are strongest in Japan, to where we have begun to really move... and if you want answers, I am sure Yugi Mutoh can tell you a bit of what he knows from one of us. Good day to you." Mark pushed his glasses up then he dropped down a smoke grenade as he and his minions disappeared.

Mokuba came rushing up to Kaiba's side as he said "Big brother... what is going on?"  
"I don't know, Mokuba, but I am going to get some answers... tell the technicians to prepare the Blue Eyes White Dragon Jet. We're going back to Japan... to see Yugi Mutoh and see what he knows about these 'Card Hunters' and what they want exactly."

Mark walked into a room, and then said "Miss... I failed to obtain Seto Kaiba's Deck... but... never trick a genius so easily. I got another possible target to consider... if you do not mind."  
On a TV monitor, a young woman with black hair tied back and with a dark blue skirt, black pantyhose, blue high heels, and a similar colored top smiled, saying "I think I know whom you refer to, Mark. But I shall let someone else deal with Pegasus. You did well against Kaiba though, and made our presence known to him. And that is good to know."

"Thank you, Ms. Sarah."  
Sarah smiled as she closed the communication, leaning back in her chair as she said "Soon, very soon, once we have all we need, we can truly begin to make this a more exciting game. Death, mayhem, anarchy. That is what will make Duel Monsters a more satisifying game than any the world has ever known." She then began to laugh, a devilish tone to her laugh, as she knew.. her plans were coming to pass soon..

To Be Continued...


	5. A Duel Of Hearts

A Duel Of Hearts  
The whole group, Yugi, Taro, Joey, Téa, Tristan, Duke, and Bakura were all sitting outside on the rooftop of Domino High as Yugi looked at a cloud, and point to it. "Hey, check it out! That cloud looks like a mushroom!"

"Uhm, OK, am I the only one who can't really see it?" Taro added, scratching his head.  
Duke chuckled and smiled, leaning back. "Well, maybe you don't have the imagination for cloudwatching, Taro. That's gotta explain how come you aren't seeing the mushroom when the rest of us can."

"Well, when I look at it, it looks more like a UFO over a building, doin' who knows what!" Joey replied, laughing some. Tristan then sighed, patting his friend's head. "Yeesh, simple as you can be, eh, Joe old buddy?"

"What's wrong with that?" Joey replied. Téa pointed quickly to another cloud and said "That one looks like a train if you ask me."  
Bakura nodded, smiling as he said "I see it too, Téa." Soon enough, everyone heard a sound at the door nearby and turned to it to see Melody was there. Taro and Duke both shout up, their eyes having hearts in them, both speaking at the same time "Melody!"

As Taro was about to walk to her, Duke landed on him and said "Maybe little boys should back off when it comes to talking to women. Excuse me." He walked over towards Melody as Taro shouted "HEY! No fair usin' your big ol' butt to pin me down, dice boy!"  
Bakura sighed some as he scratched his head. "I can tell that this will be a regular thing with Taro and Duke, won't it, Yugi?"  
"You and me both, Bakura. You and me both..." Yugi replied as Taro stood up, dusting his school uniform off. Duke was however over to Melody, taking her hands in his own as he said "Well, it is just good to see you, Melody-chan. What brings you here? Did you just come to see meeee!" Duke suddenly was jerked away from Melody by Téa, who had grabbed Duke's ear, saying "I think what she needs is just for you to back off of her, playboy."

"So cruel!" Duke replied, fake crying as Joey, Tristan, and Taro laughed heartily but then Yugi got serious and said "What did exactly bring you up to the roof, Melody? And... how'd you know we'd be here?

Melody smiled and simply said "I was told by one of the others. And the reason I came here was I wanted to ask something of Taro. If that's alright."  
Taro blushed at that, blinking. "Me...?"  
Nodding, Melody walked over to her and said "I... I would like you to teach me how to play Duel Monsters, Taro."  
Taro blinked and said "Teach you... to play Duel Monsters? Melody, are you so sure you want ME to do it? Why don't you ask Yugi or Joey to do it? They got more experience than I do and..."  
"I WANT it to be you, Taro. You showed such intensity and fire in your heart when you battled against Rumiko. You seem to be a perfect candidate to teach me the game. I want to learn the basic fundamentals from you, as well as have you help me build a Deck you feel will suit me." Melody looked at Taro, her hands held together. Taro blushed and said "OK, I can do that."

Melody smiled after hearing that and threw her arms around Taro, hugging him. "Oh, thank you! Do you think you can come by today after school to immediately help me with that?"  
Taro nodded rapidly as he said "I, I can do that!"  
Téa smiled as she still had Duke down, but this time by his collar to make sure he didn't kill Taro because of the attention he was getting from Melody. "You should be a great teacher to give Melody the basic fundamentals of the game, Taro."  
"I agree. Especially if you remember all Grandpa taught us, as well as changes to the game in the last few times."

Taro gave a thumbs up as he said "You know it, Yugi!"  
Joey looked at the clouds still, with Tristan and Bakura looking at him, with Tristan saying "Hey, Joey, you OK, man?"  
"I dunno, Tristan... I just feel... a little empty right now."  
Bakura looked at him and said "Thinking about someone, Joey?"  
"Yeah..." Joey replied, a bit of sadness in his voice.

In another part of Domino City though, a young woman with blonde hair, part of it, the lowest portions tied off by a purple bandana, a white tank top which showed a bit of cleavage, along with a purple vest of it, a similar colored skirt, which was over the upper thigh area some, with purple high-heeled boots, which went past her knees, and the same kind of color for her eyes, with hooped earrings and a large backpack as she walked down the streets, and looked at her bare hands.

This young woman was Mai Valentine, a friend to Yugi and the others. She had thought she completely overcame her regret for her past mistakes, for fighting with a group known as DOMA, whom used a powerful Field Magic Card called The Seal of Orichalcos. She had vulernabilities because of the famed Battle City tournament, where in the quarter finals, she had suffered a battle with the darker side of Malik Ishtar, a friend and ally to Yugi. She had fears of losing, and in the end, sided with Doma. Her last battle as their agent had her facing Joey... but he had been hurt battling Valon, another agent of DOMA's, and when she thought she could beat him, which was her desire for siding with DOMA, she couldn't bring herself to finish him, and in the end, he lost his soul, having told Mai he enjoyed their Duel, and she learned that despite the fact that she had won the Duel... she didn't gain a thing out of that bitter victory. She had fought many times after that, her heart feeling much joy due to the friends she had made, and realizing that something Joey told her, about not needing DOMA to be strong, was true... but coming back to Domino City, she was fearful about her true agenda... to see Yugi and the others again, especially Joey.

She exhaled, a bit nervous, but shook herself off as she began to walk around the city, asking people if they knew where Yugi Mutoh lived. But meanwhile...

Yugi was sitting in a buttoned up grey shirt and purple pants as he watched Taro in the game shop itself, as he began to get several cards he knew their grandpa had gathered, and placed them into a box he had acquired. Taro himself pulled on his black shirt, his long blue coat on as he said "Hey, Yugi! You know where Grandpa has any other cards? I got quite a few besides my own Deck to take with me to Melody's!"  
Yugi chuckled some, having sitten down, his arms behind his head, a grin coming onto his face as he said "Well, you could ask him yourself, but I dunno.. I mean I got some of mine, but, there's gotta be a price!"  
"C'mon! You're gonna make me pay?" Taro groaned, but soon, the boys heard the chuckles of their grandfather as he said "Taro, you know Yugi is just kidding of course. There is no need to be melodramatic. But there must be such a good reason why you are needing this many Duel Monsters cards."

"It's for a girl who wanted me to teach her how to play the game. She's really, really cute, and well, I wanna guarantee a successful..." Soon, Solomon grabbed Taro by his neck playfully and said "So, my youngest grandson has a sweetheart, eh? This is great news! Perhaps if Yugi hooked up with Téa, then I could be a great-grandfather before I die!"

Yugi and Taro both blushed furiously and at the same time pushed their hands into different cheeks on their grandfather's face and said "GRANDPA DON'T KID LIKE THAT!"  
Solomon laughed jovalially until he, Yugi, and Taro all heard a knock at the door. The door opened slowly, and there stood Joey, with a green jacket, white shirt underneath it, blue jeans, and black and white sneakers, also having a bag slinged over his right shoulder, smiling. "Hey, guys."  
"Joey. What's brought you over? To visit?" Yugi asked as Taro then grabbed his own bag, and closed it.  
"Well, kinda, Yugi. I just was seeing if we can manage to get some homework done. I need a big distraction 'cause I just can't get my mind off this thing that's been buggin' me for a while now... I dunno what it is but.."  
Yugi nodded. Taro then patted Yugi's shoulder and said "Good luck with that 'distraction' for Joey, Yuge! I'm outtie! Later, Grandpa! I'll probably be a little late, just in case!" Taro then bolted past Joey as Joey laughed. "Man, he must be stoked to be going to Melody's to help her out. That sure was a surprise today. Does this mean today is gonna be full..." A knock interrupted Joey's sentence as he, Yugi, and Solomon turned to the door, and when they saw whom was standing in the doorway, Joey finished up with what he was going to say "of surprises..."

Mai stood there, just looking at the trio as she smiled weakly and said "Hey, guys. What? No welcome mat for an old friend?"  
"Mai! What a surprise to see you here. When did you get into town?" Yugi had asked, walking over to her. Mai smiled, patting Yugi's shoulder as she said "I had gotten here just a few hours ago.. it's really good to see you guys.." She looked at Joey and then looked down some. Joey looked at Mai and said "Hey, Mai, you OK?"  
Mai stood there, shaking a bit as she then turned and smiled a bit, even if Joey could tell it was a fake smile, replying "Yeah. Why would you think otherwise?"

Solomon knew somehow that Yugi and Joey might have wanted some time with Mai, so he turned and said "I will get some beverages, everyone... excuse me." He then walked up the stairs, smiling. Joey looked at Mai and said "Mai, if you are still upset about our last Duel, I mean..."

Mai exhaled, still having that smile on her face as she said, a bit of a hesitance in her tone. "I do admit it hurt me a lot, Joey. Sometimes, it is one thing that has come to haunt me a bit in my dreams, more than what Malik Ishtar did to me. I... I feel like I have a good side and a dark side now, and I had come here to get some answers..."

Joey looked at her and said "Well... if you want to make that dream stop... let me take you on in a Duel, Mai."  
Mai heard that and looked up, blinking. "You would do that? Even for someone who had fallen so far, just because of her vulernabilities and weakness?"  
"Yeah." Joey smiled. "And because I care a lot about you to do this for you. Besides, I think it'd be fun to take you on again, to see what your Deck has changed."  
Mai looked at Joey and said "Let''s go for it." A weak smile on her face at that.

Soon, outside of the Kame Game Shop, both Joey and Mai had Duel Disks on, their Decks in their free hands as Joey spoke up. "Hey, Mai! What are we gonna play for in terms of LP?"  
"Can we do 4000 Life Points?" Mai replied. Joey nodded and said "You got it."

Both Duelists then placed their Decks into their Duel Disks, with Yugi looking on, as he said "Ready, you guys?"  
Mai and Joey both nodded then said "Yeah!", having drawn their 5 cards. Both looked at one another, with somewhat of an intensity. Yugi smiled as he said "Alright! Then Duel!"

"I will get us started then. Draw!" Mai drew her sixth card as she looked at her hand of cards, her right hand shaking some. She was feeling scared some of facing Joey again, not because she might lose, but because she wondered if he was deep down mad at her for siding with Doma. She shook it off and said "I'll set one card face-down, then I summon Harpie Lady 1 in Attack Mode!"

Mai's summon caused a young girl with long reddish-pink hair to appear on the Field. She also had light green wings which were linked to her wrists, dark blue feathers along her hips, as well as dark blue wrapped around her legs with purple abover the upper area of her legs, with black up her chest, over her exposed breasts, covering her nipples as she slashed the air. Joey blinked as he said "Huh? Looks like one of your original Harpie Ladies, Mai."  
"This one is new actually, hon. You'll be surprised by the effects of these new Harpie Lady cards."

HARPIE LADY 1  
Wind/Bird/4/1300 ATK/1400 DEF  
Effect: This card's name is treated as "Harpie Lady". As long as this card remains on the Field, increase the ATK of all WIND Monsters by 300 points.

Soon, Harpie Lady 1's body began to glow, as her ATK shot up from 1300 to 1600 as Joey said "Hey, what the heck just happened? How'd your Harpie's ATK shoot up like that?"  
"This is Harpie Lady 1's effect. She increases the ATK of all WIND Attribute Monsters on the Field by 300 points, including herself. So I have a pretty good head start so far. So, as of now, I end my turn. Besides, to let you know, I have changed my Harpies around. Normal to Harpie Lady SB to my new Harpie Lady additions. Let's see how you hold up against these new ones."

"You got it. My turn then. Draw!" Joey drew his sixth card, examining his hand, wondering what he could do as his own lead off move to match up to what Mai had done as her lead off. He looked on and said "I will now summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in Attack Mode!"  
In a flash, a black and white armored warrior appeared on Joey's side of the Field, slashing the air with a sword where his left arm would be, as well as a shield where his right arm was. This warrior was legendary in another form. This form was to surpress his great power.

GEARFRIED THE IRON KNIGHT  
Earth/Warrior/4/1800 ATK/1600 DEF  
Effect: Any Equip Cards equipped to this card are immediately destroyed.

Joey then took another card from his hand and said "I will now set a card down! Gearfried, attack Mai's Harpie Lady 1!" Gearfried pulled his legs back, squatting some then pushed himself forward, blasting forward at his target. But Mai looked on and said "Trap Card, activate! Mirror Wall!"  
With a flash, a barrier of glass appeared around Mai's Harpie Lady 1, blocking Gearfried's ATK, as Gearfried cried out, gritting his teeth, his ATK dropped from 1800 to 900.

MIRROR WALL  
Permanent Trap Card  
Effect: Decrease the ATK of all of your opponent's Monsters that attack by half as long as this card is face-up on the Field. You must pay 2000 Life Points during each of your Standby Phases. If you cannot, this card is destroyed.

Mai then smiled as she said "Harpie Lady 1, since Gearfried's attack is lower than that of yours... take him down!" Harpie Lady 1 charged at Gearfried the Iron Knight and slashed across his chest, causing him to cry out as he exploded.

Joey's Life Points were then dropped to 3300 Life Points. But he smiled softly as Mai said "Not a bad strategy, but I guess it is almost like it was for us the last time we've met."  
"Yeah, I know that, Mai, but not that I mind. I will just end my turn if that's cool with you." He smiled as Mai blinked. She then said "Alright. My turn." Mai slowly drew her next card and cooly, examining it, as she saw her hand had some potential in it.

She then stopped a moment and said "Hey, Joey... I..."  
"Mai. I have only one thing to say right now." Joey smiled warmly and said "Just relax and let your heart decide the cards you want to play, and if the answers you want are here for you. I just want you to have fun with a Duel. Winning and losing are OK, but it's better I think to have fun. That's how Yugi sees Duels as."  
Yugi nodded then spoke aloud. "It's very true, Mai. That's how I feel."

Mai looked over at her friends, then said "I'll try. Because I want to know the answers to the questions I see... but now. I will not pay Life Points to keep Mirror Wall in play so it's destroyed." The mirror-like barrier around Harpie Lady 1 shattered quickly as Mai then set another card face-down "And after setting a card face-down, I will play Harpie Lady 2 in Attack Mode also!"

Next to Mai's Harpie Lady 1, a similiar Harpie Lady appeared, with short orange hair as she slashed the air with her talons and smiled.

HARPIE LADY 2  
Wind/Bird/4/1300 ATK/1400 DEF  
Effect: This card's name is treated as "Harpie Lady". Negate the effects of any Flip Effect Monsters that are destroyed by this Monster as a result of Battle.

"Harpie Lady 1. Direct Attack!" Mai said, with her Harpie Lady 1 zooming right at Joey who then said "I activate my set card! Scapegoat!"

With a flash of light, four Sheep Tokens appeared on the Field, as Mai's Harpie Lady 1 slashed the red Scapegoat right in half, destroying it, but luckily, Joey's Life Points were protected. Mai smiled a bit and replied "Well. Now that I should have seen coming also. I guess my game is a little off..."  
Joey looked at her and smiled. "But I am enjoying myself. Are you?"  
Mai nodded softly, and said "I will now go to Main Phase 2. Set 1 card again, and end my turn."

Joey nodded and said "My turn! Draw!" He drew his next card and saw he had drawn one of his best cards, Red Eyes Black Dragon... a card that meant a lot to him too.

RED EYES BLACK DRAGON  
Dark/Dragon/7/2400 ATK/2000 DEF

He smiled softly as he looked at his other choices of cards and said "Bingo. I will start by offering my Blue Scapegoat Sheep Token as a Sacrifice to activate this Magic Card from my hand. Activate... Star Blaster!"

STAR BLASTER  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Offer 1 Monster on your side of the Field as a Sacrifice to activate this card. Roll 1 six-sided dice. If you have a Monster in your hand whose Star Level equals to the Star Level of the Sacrifice Monster and the result of the dice roll, you can Special Summon that Monster. If you do not have such a Monster in your hand, your turn immediately ends.

Joey and Mai looked on as a small cute looking hybrid of an angel and a demon appeared, holding a red dice in its' hands as it flicked it into the air. Joey then began to explain "The effect of Star Blaster is pretty interesting. When I sacrifice a Monster to use its' effect, I get to roll a six-sided dice. And whatever result my die lands on, I add that to the Level of the Sacrificed Monster, then I get to Special Summon a Monster whose Level is equal to the result!" The red die began to spin on its' corner slowly, then landed down onto 6 as Joey snapped his fingers and whooped with joy. "Boo-yah! That's 7 total! I now will Special Summon forth Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

Joey slapped one of his favorite cards carefully onto his Duel Disk as a jet black dragon with red glowing eyes appear, spreading out its' black wings, its' whole body having protruding areas over it, with the appearance much like bone at times. Red Eyes roared as it floated in mid-air and landed down next to Joey's remaining 2 Sheep Tokens. Joey then took one card from his hand and said "OK, to continue with the fun, I summon Panther Warrior in Attack Mode as my Normal Summon!"

The blackish-purple furred Panther Warrior took to the Field, slashing the air with his sharp scimitar as Joey said "First things first, I'll have Panther Warrior attack, so I sacrifice 1 Sheep Token to do so!"

In a flash of light, Joey's pink Sheep Token disappeared, a blue glow overcoming Panther Warrior's sword as Joey said "Now, Panther Warrior! Attack Harpie Lady 2!"

Panther Warrior charged forward and slashed Harpie Lady 2 right along the chest in an angle, destroying her, and dropping Mai's Life Points to 3600, which would have been worse had she not had Harpie Lady 1 on the Field.

"And I am not done with the fun yet, Mai! Red Eyes Black Dragon! Attack Harpie Lady 1!"  
"No way, Joey! Trap Card, Negate Attack! As you might know, Negate Attack stops the attack of one of my opponent's Monsters and ends their Battle Phase immediately too. Tough break, but you had a good move going there, Joey."

Joey exhaled and said "Well, them's the breaks. I'll get it next time. I got just two cards in my hand right now, so I think I will just end with that."  
Mai nodded as she said "My turn. Draw!" Mai drew her next card, and saw she had her best Harpie Lady themed Magic Card, but stood in shock when she had drawn it... it was a card she didn't want to use yet... not when she knew if was a powerful and dangerous Magic Card...

HARPIE LADY - HOUOU FORMATION  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: When this card is activated, destroy a number of your opponent's Monsters equal to the number of "Harpie Lady" on your side of the Field, then inflict Direct Damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the total ATK of all Monsters destroyed by this card's effect. During the turn this card is activated, Monsters with "Harpie" in their card name cannot attack.

She stood there, shaking, biting her lower lip as she trembled. Joey saw this and said "Mai..?"  
"I won't play this card! Not against you! Not yet! So instead, I play Pot of Greed!" Mai then drew 2 cards quickly, sending Pot of Greed to the Graveyard after its' use, and continued with her turn by saying "Now I will play... I will play... I... Joey, what I need to know is how can you still consider someone like me your friend? I was a monster when I was with Doma! But the hardest lesson was when you lost your soul..." Tears began to roll down Mai's cheeks, hitting the ground as she shook. "I learned even if I win, I get nothing out of something like that... like the way I wanted to win when I faced you both times when I was with Doma... how come you don't hate me..."

Joey looked at Mai and said "Because you are my friend, Mai. I couldn't hate someone who is my friend, even if he or she made some bad mistakes. I also did make some bad mistakes, Mai. Like making you feel unappreciative when deep down... I am glad we met. I really am glad."  
Mai looked at the ground, feeling those words hit her heart, giving her confidence as she looked up and smiled. "Thank you... but for now, I will not play the card I had. I will play a more... favorable card for the situation. First... I will need Elegant Egotist's effect!"

Joey knew this Magic Card Mai played, as Yugi looked on silently, arms at his sides. Yugi also knew of Elegant Egotist, which allowed Mai when it was activated with a Harpie Lady in play to Special Summon another one from her hand or Deck, or even the infamous Harpue Lady Sisters. But... what did Mai have planned?

ELEGANT EGOTIST  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: You can only activate this card when there are 1 or more "Harpie Lady" on the Field. Special Summon 1 "Harpie Lady" or "Harpie Lady Sisters" from your hand or Deck to your side of the Field.

A flash of light surrounded Mai's Harpie Lady, and then, she took a card from her Deck and showed it to Joey, saying "With the help of Harpie Lady 1 and Elegant Egotist, I now will Special Summon Harpie Lady Sisters from my Deck to my side of the Field!"

In a flash, 3 Harpie Ladies floated next to Harpie Lady 1, all in golden armor that appeared to be like bondage material. The lead Harpie Lady looked like Harpie Lady 1, and another like Harpie Lady 2, with the third one having spikey blue hair, that stood up quite a bit. They all slashed the air, striking a pose at the same time!

HARPIE LADY SISTERS  
Wind/Bird/6/1950 ATK/2100 DEF  
Effect: This Monster cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only first be Special Summoned by the effect of "Elegant Egotist".

The 3 Harpie Lady Sisters soon began to glow, their ATK shooting up from 1950 points to 2250 points thanks to Harpie Lady 1's effect. Mai smiled as she then pointed at her other set card and said "Now... I play Triangle Ecstasy Spark, another new addition to my reborn Neo Harpie Lady Deck!"  
A spark of electricity wrapped around the Harpie Lady Sisters, charging them up, their ATK going to 2700 points now, as Joey blinked, wondering what was going on.

TRIANGLE ECSTASY SPARK  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Until the End Phase of this turn, the ATK of all "Harpie Lady Sisters" becomes 2700 points, your opponent cannot activate any Trap Cards, and the effect of every Trap Card on your opponent's side of the Field is negated.

Yugi looked on and thought to himself 'Whoa, these new combos of Mai's are impressive! She's managed to regain some of the confidence she had when we've seen her Duel, but she also is keeping a clear head, AND managing also to focus enough to combo her cards cleverly! Joey's gotta use the right combos also to counter this. I can just feel it's gonna be a close race.'

"Alright, my lovely pumped up Harpie Lady Sisters! Attack Panther Warrior!" The Harpie Lady Sisters all formed into a triangle, with the pinkish-red haired Harpie Lady in the left hand corner, the orange-haired Harpie Lady in the right hand corner, and the blue haired Harpie Lady at the top, all of them placing their hand talons in the center of the triangle, a charge forming as Mai said "Triangle Ecstasy Spark attack!"

A blast shaped like a giant X appeared and shot at Panther Warrior, smashing it hard, and destroying it as it roared out before it exploded, causing Joey to cover his body with his arms as Yugi whistled. Joey's Life Points then dropped down from 3300 to 2600 as Mai then said "I will now end my turn, since Harpie Lady 1 is still too small in the ATK department to deal with your Red Eyes Black Dragon."

"OK. Now it's my turn." Drawing a card, then twisting it, the back to Mai and the face to himself, Joey examined his drawn card. He nodded and said to himself 'Lucky break. Mai's got 2 Monsters, but I can't use The Fiend Megacyber's effect since she's got just 1 more Monster than me, not 2. Man, this bites! But I got another idea what to do... if what Mai said is true...'

THE FIEND MEGACYBER  
Dark/Warrior/6/2200 ATK/1200 DEF  
Effect: If your opponent has 2 or more Monsters on his/her side of the Field than you do, you can Special Summon this card without offering any Sacrifices.

"Alright, Mai! I summon Little Winguard in Attack Mode!"

Appearing on Joey's side of the Field next to Red Eyes was a small little warrior, with no visible face, just a blackened area under its' teal-armor lined blue cap with small yellow eyes appearing. A teal shield with the same color of anklets, check armor, gloves, and waist-lined armor was with this small Monster, in its' right hand as well as a blue cape, pants, and boots like the cape. In its' left hand, it had a small sword.

LITTLE WINGUARD  
Wind/Warrior/4/1400 ATK/1800 DEF  
Effect: During each of your End Phases, you can change the Battle Position of this card.

Little Winguard soon closed his small eyes, his body beginning to glow as his ATK went up from 1400 to 1700 as Mai said "Clever, clever move, Joey, using Harpie Lady 1's effect to your advantage. You always were good at that."  
"Yeah, well, you live and learn as they say! Now, Little Winguard, attack Harpie Lady 1!" Little Winguard shot right at Harpie Lady 1 and slashed her in half, dropping Mai's Life Points by 100 points to 3500 points.

And since Harpie Lady Sisters's ATK dropped back to 1950, Joey then said "Red Eyes, continue the fun! Attack Harpie Lady Sisters!" Red Eyes pulled its' head back, its' mouth crackling as Joey added on the name of Red Eyes's attack. "Inferno Fire Blast!"  
Red Eyes shot a red fireball right at Harpie Lady Sisters, smashing the trio hard, blasting them into ashes with its' attack, and dropping Mai's Life Points by 450 points, leaving Mai at 3050 Life Points, leaving it to be very close.

Mai covered her face from watching her Harpie Lady Sisters get destroyed and looked on at Joey and smiled, feeling a strong sense in her heart. She felt that this was the best feeling that she had felt in a long time. She placed her hand on her chest, above her heart, and smiled. "This must be what you feel whenever you've Dueled others, Joey... that sense that Valon spoke of, of something we didn't have, something I didn't have, until now. Just that sense of not wanting to give up and to understand one's opponent. I get it now, Joey. You have a strong passion for this game, even stronger perhaps than the other Yugi, since you do not let the outcome bother you at all!"

"Well, most of the time at least." Joey added, scratching his head as he blushed, a smile on his face. "But to continue my turn... I play the Permanent Magic Card, Heart of the Underdog!"  
In a flash, the Heart of the Underdog Magic Card appeared on the Field, with a young man who looked a bit like Joey, only he had brown hair instead of blonde hair, and his hair was much longer. Plus he has red wristbands, blue jeans, and a white sleeveless shirt under a olive green jacket.

Yugi blinked in surprise and said "Heart of the Underdog...? Hey, Joey, what in all that is good and sound in this world made you put Heart of the Underdog in your Deck?"  
"Uhm, call it an epiphany, Yugi, my man. I mean, c'mon! Everyone laughed at me 'cause it reminded them of me 'cause of my being referred to sometimes as an underdog! And if you and Atem can use it well with that one kid's Dragon Deck, then what's to stop me from usin' it!"  
"Hmm. You got a good point there." Yugi said, then he chuckled. "OK, sorry to interrupt, guys."

Mai giggled and waved her hand. "It's quite alright, Yugi. Joey, are you almost done?"  
"Yup! I'll now officially end my turn, but I'll use Little Winguard's effect, and shift him to Defense Mode." Little Winguard soon kneeled down, his shield over his body some, his sword resting near the ground as Mai smiled and said "My turn." She drew a card, and looked at it. She knew she had some options. But she also noticed that she had one of her other new cards, one that wasn't Harpie Lady or Amazoness, but more of her elegant Bird collection. This Monster was a simple singluar sacrifice, but a wicked one at that; Roc from the Valley of Haze.

ROC FROM THE VALLEY OF HAZE  
Wind/Bird/6/2400 ATK/1400 DEF  
Effect: When this card is sent directly from your hand to the Graveyard, add this card to your Deck, and shuffle it.

But then she saw that she had only 3 cards in her hand; Roc from the Valley of Haze, Harpie Lady Houou Formation, and lastly... she looked on and saw she had also drawn Coins from Heaven. She knew Joey's hand size at the moment was 1 card. She exhaled and said "Alright. I will do it... I play Coins from Heaven!"  
In a flash of light, Mai then said "You know how this works, Joey. We both draw cards until we get a total of 6 cards in our hand."  
Both Mai and Joey drew their cards, as Joey drew 5 cards, and Mai drew 4.

Mai looked over her hand, and smiled as she took one card from her hand and played it. The Magic Card appearing on Mai's side of the Field had a card image of the upper right hand of a Monster Card, 2 of the Star Levels with swords through them. Joey knew what this card was. He blinked as he said "Cost Down?"  
"Yeah, and as you must know. I need to discard 1 card from my hand to make good use of this card. So..." Mai took Harpie Lady Houou Formation from her hand and thought to herself 'Another time, when I feel I am ready to play this card, I will...' She then slipped her chosen card into her Duel Disk's Graveyard slot.

COST DOWN  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Discard 1 card from your hand. Downgrade all Monster Cards in your hand by 2 Levels until the End Phase of the turn this card is activated.

Mai then took Roc from the Valley of Haze and said "I shall now play this Monster! But the problem was I had no cards to get it out at first, so... thusly.. now I play you, Roc from the Valley of Haze in Attack Mode!"  
In a flash of light, a gigantic bird with large red wings appeared onto the Field. Its' body was covered with brown feathers. The monstrous bird also had large tails, what appeared to be thorns for tailfeathers, and a skeleton-like head with horns. It roared as it landed down on the ground.  
"Whoa! WHAT IS THAT THING?"  
"Meet one of my pretty birds, Joey. This is Roc from the Valley of Haze. A most useful Monster both in battle, and without. Its' effect is if it gets discarded from my hand to the Graveyard, it's returned to my Deck and I shuffle my Deck. I felt calling it out was better than using it as a cost for Cost Down's effect. Now... that's 4 cards I have left. But I'm not done there. I will play this next card. The Equip Magic Card, Gust Fan!"

In a gust of wind, Roc from the Valley of Haze roared as a mark of a fan appeared on its' breast, a blast of wind wrapping around it, its' ATK raising up from 2400 to 2800, and its' DEF dropping from 1400 to 1200. In fact, Joey was well aware of Gust Fan's effect, since he had it in his Deck as well. He should have guessed Mai would have used it since her Harpie Ladies' Attributes were Wind. But the thought never crossed his mind... until now!

GUST FAN  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: A WIND Monster equipped with this card increases its' ATK by 400 points and decreases its' DEF by 200 points.

"Roc, attack Red Eyes Black Dragon!" The enormous Roc shot at Red Eyes Black Dragon, catching Joey off-guard as it then shot a supersonic wave of energy, blowing up the black-bone like Dragon to dust as Joey covered his body, his LP dropped to 2200. Mai then smiled as she said "Turn end."

Joey shook himself off, chuckling just a bit, taking it to a laugh as he smiled. "I'm glad to see the old side of you back in front of my eyes, Mai! I hated that side of you that was in Doma sometimes, the side of you that just was using the Seal of Orichalcos just because of your insecurity with your own skill. But you've gotta be seeing now that you don't need to worry! You're stronger than that!"

"I have seen that for myself. I don't need that kind of power anymore, and I guarantee you that I will not let what happened to me hold me back or down or even lead me to want power for some selfish reason! I will fight on with all my heart, win or lose."

Yugi smiled at his two friends as he watched them carry on the Duel. Joey smiled still as he said "My turn! Draw!" He drew his next card and got a particularly interesting Magic Card... Release Restraint. He knew if he still had Gearfried the Iron Knight on the Field he could use it. But that is when he also noticed he had The Warrior Returning Alive! He took it from his hand and said "I now activate this Magic Card! The Warrior Returning Alive! With its' effect, I get to add 1 Warrior-Type Monster in my Graveyard to my hand!"

THE WARRIOR RETURNING ALIVE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Add 1 Warrior-Type Monster in your Graveyard to your hand.

Joey grabbed his chosen Warrior-Type Monster and said "I will next Normal Summon Gearfried the Iron Knight back in Attack Mode!"  
Gearfried appeared again, slamming onto the ground, slashing the air with his sword. Joey looked at Mai and said "Maybe you didn't know this, Mai, but there's a story to Gearfried's armor. His strength was once so formidable that he left a wake of destruction in his path, and shook the earth itself by the very foundation. So, now, I'm gonna set him free! First up, Magic Card! Release Restraint!"

RELEASE RESTRAINT  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Offer 1 "Gearfried the Iron Knight" on your side of the Field as a Sacriifce. Special Summon 1 "Gearfried the Swordmaster" from your hand or Deck to your side of the Field.

Gearfried's armor began to shine brightly as he cried out, the armor exploding into dust! Mai blinked in shock as she said "You killed your own Monster?"  
"Nope. Just givin' him his true form. Show yourself, Gearfried the Iron Knight, show your true form as..." Joey then yanked a card from his Deck and smiled, showing it to Mai. "Gearfried the Swordmaster!" He then slapped his card of choice onto his Duel Disk.

And soon, Gearfried appeared, without his armor on. He had long black hair, a very large build, elfen-like ears, a kind of tape around his hands from his wrists, past his knuckles as well as an X shaped leather strap over his chest. Gearfried the Swordmaster also had brown boots on, a red loincloth with black briefs under it, a red diamond on the loincloth, a brown belt with a gold diamond on it as well. He then grabbed a sword, which landed near him, and pulled it out, holding it at his side in his left hand.

GEARFRIED THE SWORDMASTER  
Light/Warrior/7/2600 ATK/2300 DEF  
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of "Release Restraint". Whenever an Equip Card is Equipped onto this card, destroy 1 Monster on your opponent's side of the Field.

Mai looked on as she said "There is a problem with your strategy though, Joey. You forget my Roc is at 2800 ATK thanks to Gust Fan."  
"Actually, there's a very solid reason I chose to Special Summon Gearfried the Swordmaster from my Deck. His effect is gonna win me this Duel. But... before I do this, I just wanna say thanks."

"For what?"

"For what you did for me back at Duelist Kingdom, giving me your Glory of the King's Right Hand, Mai. I never really got to thank you properly for that. And also thanks for this Duel. I'm glad I could give you the answers you wanted."

Mai smiled as she said "Maybe sometime, we can Duel again... and I don't care if I win or lose. Just as long as I get to understand that passion you have.."

Yugi smiled also, glad to know that his faith in his friends was worth it. Even if Mai worked for Doma, he still believed deep down she had good in her heart, and knew that no person completely had evil in their hearts, and that was his true strength.

"Now! I play the Equip Magic Card, Fusion Sword Murasame Blade onto Gearfried the Swordmaster!" In a flash of light, Gearfried's sword was gone, replaced by a glowing katana of some kind. He held it in his hands, the sword ablaze with energy, his ATK going up from 2600 points to 3400 points. Joey had recently added Fusion Sword Murasame Blade into his Deck, but he knew it was a solid card since he ran a lot of Warrior-Type Monsters in his Deck.

FUSION SWORD - MURASAME BLADE  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: This card can only be equipped to Warrior-Type Monsters. A Monster equipped with this card increases its' ATK by 800 points. This card cannot be destroyed by effects that destroy Magic Cards.

Joey then continued as he said "And thanks to Gearfried the Swordmaster's effect, Mai, I'll destroy Roc from the Valley of Haze!" Gearfried slashed the air, creating a slicing motion which cut Roc from the Valley of Haze right in half, destroying it easily! Mai looked on and said "You didn't kid when you said Gearfried the Swordmaster was strong."

"Yeah. And now... " Joey hesitated for a moment, looking at Mai who just smiled, then nodded to him, letting him know it was alright for him to continue the Direct Attack, since she knew she was beaten.

"Gearfried the Swordmaster! Hit Mai with a Direct Attack!" Gearfried heard Joey's command, twisted his sword a bit, as it began to glow, then shot a spiraling wave of energy right at Mai, hitting her. Mai gritted her teeth and stood her ground, then smiled as her LP hit 0.

Yugi walked up and said "Wow! You guys both did well."  
Joey smiled, rubbing his index finger under his nose playfully. Mai walked up to Joey and stopped as she smiled. "Well, this was a most interesting day. I... thought at first I was going to regret meeting you guys again, after what happened, but I'm glad I didn't. And... thank you also, Joey. There was a reason I competed in Battle City... it was just so I could see all of you again. You especially, Joey. The pain of what Malik did to me in that 'Shadow Game' as it was called, the thought of being alone... it scared me... and perhaps when I fought for Doma, I was alone... more so than ever."

Joey patted Mai's shoulder softly, and simply said "You are never alone though, Mai. You should know that by now."  
Mai looked up at her friend, smiled, then patted his hand in return. "I know..." She then leaned in and kissed Joey's cheek as she said "I am going to be sticking around here for a while, so you can expect me to run into you guys sometime soon."

Joey stood there, surprised as he had his hand on the cheek Mai kissed. She then waved and said "Bye bye for now." Then she walked off, smiling also. Yugi grinned playfully and said "Well, well..."  
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean, Yugi?"  
"Well does it mean you two are dating?" Yugi then began to ran, laughing as Joey chased after him "Why you!" All in all, it was a day full of victories, both in a Duel, and for the hearts of two people. A battle that was never easy to win, but when won, it made a person all the stronger.

To Be Continued...


	6. Taro Teaches Melody Duel Monst

Taro Teaches Melody; Duel Monsters 101 Part 1 - The Lesson

Taro came up slowly to a front door, blinking in surprise. The house of the address Melody mentioned to thim was a lot different than in his mind. In fact, this house had a touch of a European feel to it. He looked up and said 'Man... I feel so outta place! OK, Taro, pull yourself together, dude, and knock on the door!'  
Nodding to himself, the shorter of the two Mutoh cousins knocked on the door rapidly. He stood there, waiting a bit, then exhaled, pulling the strap to his backpack a bit tightly to ease his tension some. Soon enough, the door was opened by Melody, who smiled sweetly, with a white buttoned up shirt, with some slight frilled sleeves on the end, and a black dark purple pleated skirt that went down to her ankles, showing her feet though. She then said "Taro, you made it. Find the place OK?"

"Yeah, I did. I didn't actually suspect your place would be like this though..."  
Melody smiled still, while Taro slipped his shoes off, setting them by the door much like the custom was in Japan. "My mother is European to be honest. She loved the concept of houses in England, so she had this house bought the time we had come to Domino City. I mean, I never even told anyone my family was wealthy."  
"Wait, you're loaded?"  
"Mmm-hmm. Why? Is it that much of a surprise to you?"  
"Kinda, but Mel, you know that that ain't gonna change the fact I am glad to have you as a friend!"

Melody smiled and then said "Thank you, Taro. My parents know of you coming over, but perhaps we should get started before introductions with them are made, right?"  
"OK! Lead the way!" Taro replied. Melody soon walked down the hall, Taro walking right next to her, still a bit surprised about what he learned so far about Melody. As they continued to walk, Melody then lead Taro to a study. "This is where I think we should study."  
"Man, this study is pretty big, Melody. But luckily enough, besides my own Deck, I brought along a lot of other cards my grandpa had. The guy does run a game shop after all."

Melody sat down and smiled as she said "Please sit with me, Taro, so we may begin this lesson."  
Taro blushed a bit, but nodded to respond, taking a seat next to Melody, placing his backpack onto the table, pulling out the box of cards he had as he then shook his blush off, as he cleared his throat. "Alright, Melody, let's get started with the lesson on how to play Duel Monsters."

Melody nodded, as Taro pulled out some cards, setting them He had set the cards into 3 categories. "Now, each card in Duel Monsters is seperated into one of 3 types of cards, Melody. First we have Monster Cards, then we have Magic Cards, and finally, Trap Cards. Each card has a place in its' Duelist's Deck, and how it helps depends on how it works."  
"I understand that. Do each card types have different types to their name also?" Melody asked, leaning towards Taro some.  
Taro nodded. "Yeah. Lemme start to Monster Cards." He then placed out a few cards that represented the Monster Card class, looking at Melody and smiling. "Now, with Monsters, Melody, they all have a purpose. Monsters are meant to attack your opponent's other Monsters, his or her Life Points, or to protect your own. Monsters are classified in one of 6 Attributes for starters."

He then showed her Perfect Machine King, his favorite card and pointed to the upper-right hand corner. "Do you see that orb that has the kanji for Earth and say 'Earth' about it, Melody?"  
"Yes. Is that a Monster's Attribute?" Melody asked, her hands respectfully on her legs, closed as she looked on.  
"Right on! The Attributes in the game are Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Light, and Dark. And sometimes, Attributes play a big role in combos for Decks. But I'll get into Types next. Every card has a different Type to them. And Types can sometimes play a role too, much like Attributes can."

"You use Machine-Type Monsters, right, Taro?"  
"I do, Mel. Besides Machine, there is also Spellcaster, Dragon, Warrior, Beast, Beast-Warrior, Rock, Bird, Angel, Demon, Thunder, Aqua, Fish, Sea Serpent, Reptile, Dinosaur, and Insect-Type Monsters. Sometimes, when a person makes up a Deck, they may use the Types of Monsters as a focus. 2 such Duelists I've heard of are Weevil Underwood, and Rex Raptor. Weevil's used an Insect-Type Deck, and Rex has Dinosaurs, Dragons, and Reptiles with his Deck. And as you've seen, I run Machine-Type Monsters in my Deck. But sometimes, they may choose something else as the Deck's theme. Now, we come up to the Class of Monster." Taro smiled.

"The class?"  
"Yup. You see... each Monster Card has a kind of 'class'. Either it's Normal... which means it has a yellow border around it... Effect, like my Perfect Machine King here has, which means it's an Effect Monster and an orange border to show it, Ritual, which has a blue border to it, or Fusion, which has a purple border to it. For Ritual and Fusion Monsters, you need to do something different. Ritual Monsters require Ritual Magic Cards to Special Summon them. One such noted Ritual Monster is Black Luster Soldier."

"How does a Ritual Magic Card work...?" Melody asked.  
"Well, to use a Ritual Magic Card, you gotta sacrifice Monsters on your side of the Field or in your hand equal to the Level of the Ritual Monster to Special Summon it from your hand. And Fusion Monsters sometimes need the Magic Card, Polymerization. But my only Fusion, XYZ-Dragon Cannon, doesn't need that to Special Summon it."  
"I understand that a bit. But... what do Effect Monsters do?"

Taro chuckled as he answered Melody's query. "Well, Melody, Effect Monsters have an orange border like I said earlier. Now, the effects can help you and hinder your opponent, make your Monster stronger, or much more. The kinds of effects that exist are Flip, which means the Monster needs to be flipped from a face-down position to use it. Then there's Trigger, where a certain action you take activates the effect, Multi-Trigger, and also your standard effects which activate at times when the Monster is in play. Now, the next task is Levels. You remember when I battled Rumiko and I sacrificed my Cyber Falcon and Battle Footballer to summon Perfect Machine King?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, in Duel Monsters ever since Battle City, a sacrifical rule has been in play. That means some Monsters need sacrifices due to their Level. Now... the Level of the Monster is under its' name and Attribute right here..." Taro pointed to the Star Level indicators under the name of Perfect Machine King as Melody said "8 Levels. Does that mean Perfect Machine King needs 2 sacrifices?"  
"Yup. Monsters whose Levels are 1, 2, 3, or 4 can be Normal Summoned from your hand once per turn. When you Normal Summon a Monster, you place them like so."

Taro then demonstrated, placing Perfect Machine King first vertically onto the table as he said "This is Attack Mode."  
He then took his favorite card carefully, turning it horizontally this time. "This is Defense Mode."  
And lastly, he flipped it face-down and said "And finally, Set Mode. Monsters who are Level 5 and 6 require 1 Sacrifice, and then Level 7 and beyond Monsters require 2 sacrifices to get them out, Melody."  
"How do the modes work?" Melody asked.

Taro then smiled. "See, in Attack Mode, your Monster can be included in what is called the Battle Phase. In the Battle Phase, you have your Monster attack your opponent's Monsters, or if he or she doesn't have any, their Life Points. In Attack Mode, a Monster's ATK, or Attack Points, are taken into account." Taro then pointed to the bottom of Perfect Machine King's card, to its' ATK, which was 2700. "The higher the ATK points of an Attack Mode Monster, the more damage it would do to one of your opponent's Monsters with weaker ATK that also is in Attack Mode. If the Monster is in Defense Mode, Mel, your Monster's DEF or Defense Points are taken into account. See the DEF next to Perfect Machine King's ATK?"  
"I do. It reads 1500 points."  
"Right. Now, while a Monster is in Defense Mode, if an Attack Mode Monster attacks it and that Attack Mode Monster's ATK is weaker, the controller of said Monster takes damage due to the difference."  
"I see. What if a Monster that had weaker ATK that was in Attack Mode attacked a Monster that had higher ATK?"  
"Then the controller of the attacking Monster loses LIfe Points equal to the difference in ATK." Taro added. Melody and Taro both then stopped, looking at one another for a moment, as Melody then blushed a bit and said "Life Points?"

"Yup. Life Points are what determine who is closest to losing, Melody." Taro replied, his cheeks red too from when Melody looked at him. "In some games, 4000 Life Points are used, and in others, 8000 are used. When your Life Points hit 0, you lose, but the same conditions falls to your opponent too. A Duelist can also lose by having no more cards to draw, if they surrender by placing their hand on their Deck, or if special conditions are met."

"I do understand that well. Taro, can Ritual and Fusion Monsters have effects?"  
"Yep, they can! You can always find the effect above the ATK and DEF in case you need to know what that Monster does, if it has an effect."  
"Alright. Now... what about Magic Cards?"  
Taro smiled as he pulled some Magic Cards from his Deck and placed them out in their classification.

"Magic Cards are another life-blood to a Deck in Duel Monsters. Magic Cards help you and hurt your opponent. Now, Magic Cards are classified in Normal, Quickplay, Permanent, Equip, Ritual, and Field. Normal Magic Cards are played from your hand or played after you've set them face-down. Cards of this class I have include Monster Reborn, Silent Dead, Pot of Greed... to name a few. Then there's Quickplay. You can play a Quickplay Magic Card like a Normal Magic Card, but if you set it down, you can activate it also during your opponent's turn."

"Oh I see! How so?"

"It's the trigger timing. The timing for a Quickplay Magic Card can be considered like that of a Trap Card at times. Anyhow, Permanent Magic Cards will remain face-up up on the Field until they are destroyed, or their effects are used. Field Magic Cards are played on a special spot of the Duel Zone, and power up certain types of Monsters, or give you special effects to make use of. Equip Magic Cards are placed onto a Monster, giving it an effect of some kind, an ATK or DEF increase, or something different! And Ritual Magic Cards, as I said before, are used in Special Summoning Ritual Monsters. If you need to know the type of Magic Card you have, look right next to the words 'Magic Card' underneath the name of the Magic Card. If you see no icon, that is a Normal Magic Card. If you see a kind of lightning bolt-esque crack in a circle, that's a Quickplay Magic Card. If you see a sign like a plus symbol in the circle, that's an Equip Magic Card. If you see an infinity symbol, that's a Permanent Magic Card. If you see what looks like a compass marker, that's Field Magic. And if you see a flame like icon, that is Ritual."

"Very easy to understand if you ask me." Melody smiled. "I take it Trap Cards also have their own classifications too."  
"You're sure getting the hang of this, Mel! Trap Cards come in Normal, Counter, Continuous, and sometimes, Equip!"  
"So, the same markers as for Magic Cards are implied?" Melody blinked. Taro began to laugh a bit. "Close, but for Counter Trap Cards, they have a kind of a curved arrow pointing left that shows it is one. Then it has the Permanent infinity symbol for the Continuous Trap Card, and finally, the same kind of cross like symbol for Equip Trap Cards."

"I believe I understand this now so easily." Melody then sweetly smiled, and then hugged Taro. "Thank you again for doing this, Taro. I am glad I asked you to do this!" She looked at Taro then kissed his forehead as Taro blushed furiously.

"Yo-you're welcome.." Taro chuckled sheepishly. "The next thing you gotta get is the Graveyard, the Abyss, and the Phases of play. The Graveyard is generally where all Magic and Trap Cards that have been used and/or have been destroyed, as well as Monster Cards that have been destroyed in battle or by other means are placed. But the Abyss is for cards that have been removed from play. That's a special condition that occurs occassionally, and that means that the cards are gone and are placed outside of your Graveyard."

"Does that mean you cannot access them again?" Melody asked, still having Taro in his arms, but Taro not minding as much. "Well, yeah, you can at times, Melody. It would take a Magic Card or a Trap Card, and sometimes even a Monster effect to get a card removed from play back, either to your hand or in your Graveyard. But yes, you can." He stopped for a moment, his blush gone as he looked at Melody and smiled. "You know, to step off the topic a bit... do you know you have pretty eyes, Mel?"

"T-Taro..." Melody blushed a bit but then said "So, what about these Phases?"  
Taro slowly slipped from Melody's hug and sat down. "The Phases are how each Duelist goes through a turn. At the beginning of each Duel, both players, or Duelists, have 5 cards in hand. The first phase is the Draw Phase, where the turn player draws 1 card from his or her Deck and adds it to their hand. Now, the most cards a Duelist can have at a time, unless a Magic Card's effect says otherwise or even a Trap Card's, is 6. After the Draw Phase, we come to the Standby Phase. In this phase of play, some cards' effects become active. Next, after that, we have Main Phase 1. In Main Phase 1, you can Normal Summon a Monster in the modes I told you about or set it face-down. You can also set Trap Cards, or play Magic Cards if you'd like. If it is your first turn, you can't enter the next Phase which is the Battle Phase. In the Battle Phase, you'd have your Monsters atack, as long as their ATK is high enough to destroy an opposing Monster."

"The Battle Phase actually sounds like it could be tough without the right Deck."  
"Naw, it can be easy, since Equip Magic Cards can help power up your Monsters. Now, the Battle Phase has steps of its' own. The first part has you target 1 of your opponent's Monsters. That will begin the Battle Phase. This step is known as the Attack Step. When the attack is done, we move to the Damage Step. In the Damage Step, if a stronger Monster is in Attack Mode and you destroy another Attack Mode Monster with weaker ATK, that difference will be subtracted from your opponent's Life Points. If the other Monster is in Defense Mode, and your Monster's ATK is higher, it's destroyed. But if your Monster has weaker ATK, you lose LP, and if the DEF of the Defense Mode Monster is higher, you lose LP also. After the Damage Step, we'd repeat the Attack Step if you have more than one Monster on the Field. And once you are done attacking, that is the End Step."

"That sounds good so far. Any more Phases?"  
"2 more. Main Phase 2, which is just like Main Phase 1 at times. And finally, the End Phase. The End Phase is the end of the turn, plus if you have more than 6 cards in your hand, you need to discard cards until you have 6 in your hand. But next, I will explain the Summons. I told you about Normal Summons, yeah?"

"Yes." Melody smiled as she had her chin resting on her right hand. "You said you can make only 1 Normal Summon per turn. What about these Special Summons you had mentioned when explaining about Ritual Monsters?"  
"Special Summons are a whole different game. If you can make them, you can make as many in one turn as you like. But you got only 5 Monster Card Zones, so you got to be careful about it, that's for sure. You also have 5 spots for Magic and Trap Cards, so you gotta use them wisely. Then, we got Flip Summons. If a Monster is face-down, you can flip it up to Attack Mode, making it face-up. If your flipped Monster has a Flip Effect, that is gonna be immediately activated. And I beleive with that, I have covered everything."

Melody smiled. "Good! So, now... that leaves a Deck?"  
"Yeah! That's right. Technically, sometimes, there are 3 Decks, your Main Deck, your Side Deck, and your Fusion Deck. Your Main Deck needs a minimum of 40 cards in it to be tournament legal. Then the Side Deck has 15 cards total you can switch with during tournaments if you need to, and your Fusion Deck houses your Fusion Monsters. Now, we move to building the Deck for you." Taro slowly looked through some of the cards and then said "Once you find something you find interesting, I will help you out, OK?"

"Thank you again, Taro. You see, when I first heard of Duel Monsters, I didn't even think I'd want to learn to play. But once I saw how you played, it made me see just how much fun Duel Monsters could be... and how I wanted to play it." Melody had said, digging through the cards. This had gotten to Taro some, and with that having been said, he simply smiled.

"Ya know, back at my old school in Odaiba, I didn't know anyone who liked Duel Monsters like I did. But I am glad I decided to come here to Domino City while my mom is in America for business. And... at least it gave me a chance to meet Yugi's friends and you." Taro said. "See anything yet?"

"I think I do!" Melody pulled out a card carefully, then handed it to Taro, who looked at it. "Wow. Law of the Normal! I didn't see that coming, to be honest. This actually is a solid Magic Card, Mel. The thing is, we are gonna have to build a Deck around small Monsters, Level 1 and 2s to be precise. But I know other support cards for such a Deck, and that also help Level 3 Monster Cards too. You want to go for that kind of a theme as a Deck?"  
Melody nodded and smiled. "The idea sounds good. Even if the Monsters may not be cute, I do not mind. Small Monsters seem like a lovely idea."  
"Good. Then we know what to do!" Taro smiled, raising his arm in the air, as well as holding onto Law of the Normal.

LAW OF THE NORMAL  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: You can only activate this card when there are 5 face-up Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters on your side of the Field. Both players discard all cards in their hands, and destroy all cards on the Field except Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters.

Taro then placed it down, as he and Melody began to work on her Deck, which Taro had nicknamed "Law of the Normal", hoping to bring out a strong Deck, even with weak Monsters. He had a lot of help thanks to remembering how this kind of Deck Theme would work, and he wanted to give Melody the help she'd need.

To Be Continued...

Episode 7 - Taro Teaches Melody; Duel Monsters 101 Part 2 - The Duel

After having gotten her deck prepared, Taro and Melody began to shuffle one another's Decks as Taro explained. "Alright, we're gonna do a Duel with 4000 Life Points. And you remember all I told you, right?"  
Melody nodded as both placed their Decks onto opposite sides of the table.  
"Duel!" Taro said, as Melody blinked then said "Oh! Duel."

Both now had Life Points of 4000 set up, also drawing their first five cards. Taro smiled softly as he said "Melody, feel free to go first if you'd like."  
Melody smiled and said "Thank you. My turn then." She drew her sixth card, examining her hand. She remembered her Deck didn't have many strong Monsters... so she'd have to play them in different combos to keep them on the Field. She took one Monster Card and said "I summon Petit Dragon in Defense Mode."

Melody's card was placed horizontally, showing it was in Defense Mode. On the card was a very petit-looking dragon with a yellow body, small wings, a cute smile, big green eyes, as well as stripes along its' belly.

PETIT DRAGON  
Wind/Dragon/2/600 ATK/700 DEF

Melody then took another card and said "And then, I will place a card face-down for later. Turn end."  
'Not bad. She's gonna need to take time to get out her strategy, but I think I can at least give a good fair Duel by playing my best.' Taro thought. "My turn. Draw!" He drew his sixth card.

He looked at his hand and saw he had Gradius and Gradius's Option. He could take an early lead this way. So he nodded as he said "I summon Gradius in Attack Mode."  
With Taro's summon, a futuristic fighter jet similar to the one in the Konami video game, Gradius, which the card was named after, appeared, locking onto target. This was Vic Viper, known as Gradius in some circles.

GRADIUS  
Light/Machine/4/1200 ATK/800 DEF

Taro then took a card from his hand and added on. "And thanks to Gradius' summon, I can Special Summon this guy from my hand. I Special Summon Gradius's Option!"  
Right next to Gradius floated a small orb with a diamond-like shape in front of it. Suddenly, it morphed into a clone of Gradius, floating right next to it. Taro then smiled as he said "And now! Gradius, attack Melody's Petit Dragon!"

Gradius locked onto target, and shot a blast of energy from its' lasers right at Petit Dragon as Melody then quickly flipped over her face-down card. "Activate Trap Card! Draining Shield!"  
Taro looked in surprise, but then smiled as he knew Gradius's attack was halted, Melody's Life Points going up to 5200.

DRAINING SHIELD  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: Negate the attack of 1 of your opponent's Monsters and increase your Life Points by an amount equal to the attacking Monster's ATK.

Taro smiled as he said "Well, I can still at least try to attack with Gradius's Option, but where's the fun in that? I'll just set one card face-down... for later as well."  
Melody smiled and said "My turn then." She drew her next card, her hand size now 5 cards due to her having played Petit Dragon last turn, then having used Draining Shield. She examined her hand and smiled when she saw a most intriguing Magic Card. That Magic Card was Enchanting Fitting Room. She nodded and said "I will now use the Magic Card, Enchanting Fitting Room!"

Melody knew her Life Points would go down by 800 points for using Enchanting Fitting Room. Her LP was still 400 points higher than Taro's, being at 4400. She then picked up the four topmost cards of her Deck, examining them.

ENCHANTING FITTING ROOM  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Pay 800 Life Points. Pick up 4 cards from the top of your Deck and Special Summon any Level 3 or lower Normal Monsters among the picked-up cards to your side of the Field. Return all the other cards to your Deck and the Deck is then shuffled.

Taro blinked as he said "Get anything good with Enchanting Fitting Room's effect?"  
Melody smiled, then winked. "That'd be telling! You'll see for yourself. I now Special Summon Gigobyte, Mokey Mokey, and Haniwa with the effect of Enchanting Fitting Room, all in Defense Mode."

The 3 Monsters of Melody's were all small ones, just like Petit Dragon, but each looking interesting. The first one, Gigobyte, was a small green reptile with spikes on his elbows, knees, and along his shoulders. He also had yellow wrapping around his wrists and ankles. This was a much smaller version of another Monster in the game known as Gagagigo... at his earliest stage.

GIGOBYTE  
Water/Reptile/4/350 ATK/300 DEF

The second Special Summoned Monster, Mokey Mokey, was shaped like a block of white tofu, with round hands and feet, small yellow wings, and a pink kind of antenna-style halo almost shaped like a question mark. It also appeared to be kind of confused.

MOKEY MOKEY  
Light/Angel/1/300 ATK/100 DEF

And finally, the last one, Haniwa, was a brown idol-shaped creature with dark blue arms and round hands with no fingers, as well as similar colored legs, but brown feet. It also had a yellow mouth with black around it, and similar eyes.

HANIWA  
Earth/Rock/2/500 ATK/500 DEF

Taro looked in surprise. "Whoa. Now that's one heck of a lineup!"  
"I will then just set 2 cards down to end my turn for now. Your turn, Taro-kun!"  
Taro blushed at that, but smiled at the thought of Melody calling him Taro-kun. He then shook it off and said "OK, then. My turn!" He drew his next card and smiled softly. 'Cyclon Laser. This'll be handy for cutting through Mel-chan's defense.'

"I play the Equip Magic Card, Cyclon Laser, and equip it to the only Monster it can be equipped by... Gradius!"  
With that said, a small set of dual lasers appeared underneath Gradius's frame, locking into place.

CYCLON LASER  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: This card can only be equipped to "Gradius". Whenever the equipped "Gradius" attacks with an ATK higher than the DEF of your opponent's Defense Mode Monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points.

"And now, it's time to do some damage. Gradius, attack Gigobyte!" Gradius locked onto Gigobyte, and the Cyclon Laser attached to it shot a spiraling laser at it, blowing him up to bits. Melody gulped a bit at that as her LP then dropped down to 3500 as she said "What just happened?"  
"Gradius gets the trample effect when equipped with Cyclon Laser, Mel-chan. In other words, whenever it attacks with higher ATK than any of your Defense Mode Monsters' DEF, he deals damage. So you lost 900 LP when Gradius destroyed Gigobyte."

Melody nodded. "I getcha. But now I activate my Trap Card, Human Wave Tactics!"  
Taro looked at this and said "Oh, man..."

HUMAN WAVE TACTICS  
Continuous Trap Card  
Effect: During the End Phase of each turn, select a number of Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters from your Deck equal to the number of your Level 2 or lower Normal Monsters destroyed as a result of Battle during that turn, and Special Summon them to your side of the Field. The Deck is then shuffled.

"OK, so I might as well as continue the attack! Gradius's Option, attack Haniwa!" Gradius's Option locked on then fired, blowing up Haniwa as Melody smiled then said "Nice move."

"Yeah, I know this is gonna hurt me a bit, but... it's worth a shot at least. I'll set one Monster face-down and end my turn." Taro just simply set down one card, then exhaled.  
Melody smiled, as she grabbed her Deck then pulled out 2 Level 2 Monsters and said "With Human Wave Tactics, I will Special Summon 2 Level 2 or lower Monsters from my Deck as destroyed as a result of Battle by your Monsters. So... I Special Summon another Haniwa from my Deck, then another Gigobyte."

Once more, another Haniwa and Gigobyte appeared, but this time, both were in Attack Mode, as Melody then shuffled her Deck, setting it down. She smiled then said "My turn. Draw." She drew her next card casually, then held up her card of choice. "I will now activate Pot of Greed. which as you know lets me draw 2 cards." Melody placed Pot of Greed into her Graveyard pile, drawing 2 cards. From her hand of 3, she then was at 5 cards total. She noticed one card in particular that could be the best offense at this point in time.

She then said "I will now use this card. I will activate the Equip Magic Card, Sword of the Sword-Eater."  
With Melody's play, a sword that was twisted black with what appeared to be an eye along the center appeared as Taro knew what this meant. "Uh-oh..."  
"As you know, Taro-kun, Sword of the Soul-Eater is a pretty strong Equip Magic Card when with a Deck like mine. I will now equip this Magic Card to Gigobyte... and following its' effect, I will sacrifice Mokey Mokey, Petit Dragon, and Haniwa to its' effect."

SWORD OF THE SOUL-EATER  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: You can only equip this card to a Level 3 or lower Normal Monster on your side of the Field. When you activate this card, offer all Normal Monsters (except Tokens) on your side of the Field, except the equipped Monster, as Sacrifices. Increase the ATK of the Equipped Monster by 1000 points for each Normal Monster that you offered as a Sacrifice.

Melody then took Haniwa, Petit Dragon, and Mokey Mokey's cards, placing them into the Graveyard pile as she then said "And thanks to my 3 Monsters's Sacrifices... Gigobyte's ATK is raised by 3000 points, 1000 for each of my sacrificed Monsters. That puts it at 3350 ATK. And now I move to attack. Gigobyte, attack Gradius!"

Taro knew his set card wouldn't help here, so he just let the attack go through, his LP taking a 2150 point drop. 4000 points to 1850 LP in one shot. He smiled as he thought 'Now this is the true power of Melody's Deck! Anyone will take a first glance and see her Deck as weak due to the fact her Monsters' ATK are low, but the true power is when a Magic Card like Sword of the Soul-Eater is played.'

"To continue one, I will set one card face-down to end my turn." Taro heard Melody's last move, then moved her Gradius and Gradius's Option to the Graveyard, but didn't mind. He knew he had to defend, so he then said "My turn. Draw!" He drew his next card, then he played his set card, flipping it up. "And I play my Quickplay Magic Card, Scapegoat, to defend my Life Points."  
Taro took 4 tokens from his pocket and placed them onto the Field to represent his Sheep Tokens, since he didn't have a Duel Disk with him. He then said "Turn end."

"My turn then." Melody said, drawing her next card. She then said "I will next play Mega Thunderball in Attack Mode."  
This Monster Melody had played was a large ball shaped Monster, spikes along the green and blue panels as well as a white one... then a red dot in the center.

MEGA THUNDERBALL  
Wind/Thunder/2/750 ATK/600 DEF

"Now, I move to attack! Gigobyte, attack one of Taro's Sheep Tokens!" Gigobyte destroyed the Sheep Token to the far-most right. Melody continued her turn then said "Go, Mega Thunderbolt, attack the Sheep Token! to the right!"

Mega Thunderbolt also destroyed the Sheep Token on the right, thusly, Taro only had 2 Sheep Tokens in play. Taro gulped a bit as Melody smiled sweetly. "Turn end."  
Taro nodded as he said "My turn. Draw!"  
He looked at his card of drawing, and smiled as he said "I play Graceful Charity." He then drew 3 cards, his hand size at 6 cards. He took 2 cards from his hand, Gradius's Option, and Cyber Falcon, showing them to Melody before placing the, into the Graveyard pile as then he said "And now, I will set one Monster face-down, then end my turn."

"My turn. Draw." Melody drew her next card, then smiled as she said "I will now play another Mega Thunderball in Attack Mode. Now, Gigobyte, attack!"  
"Nice try. But I play Negate Attack!"  
Melody then blinked as she said "Oh, no..."  
"So you know what this means, right? You cannot attack."  
"Right. I will set one card down... to end my turn." Melody exhaled, then smiled sweetly. "Live and let live, Mel-chan! You did a good job! Now... My turn." Taro drew his next card, then he smiled when he saw his card. He then smiled as he said "I will now flip up Gear Golem the Moving Fortress from face-down Defense Mode to face-up Attack Mode."

Taro's Monster of choice had a large gear in the center of its' body, which was golden. It also had golden circles near its' arms with spikes protruding from them. And spiked arm-like shields as well. Its' head was curved some, its' eyes red and the same gold color as the gear. It also had small feet, and blue and black lined hazard-like lines along its' body.

GEAR GOLEM THE MOVING FORTRESS  
Earth/Machine/4/800 ATK/2200 DEF  
Effect: Pay 800 Life Points. This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

Taro then showed one of his Magic Cards and said "I will now play 7 Completed! With its' effect, I can raise the ATK or DEF of 1 Machine-Type Monster on my side of the Field by 700 points. For Gear Golem the Moving Fortress, I choose to power up Gear Golem's ATK!"

7 COMPLETED  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: A Machine-Type Monster equipped with this card increases either its' ATK or DEF by 700 points. You cannot change your choice as long as this card remains face-up on the Field.

Gear Golem the Moving Fortress's ATK - 1500 ATK.

"Now, I will also add in the Magic Card, Limiter Removal, doubling Gear Golem's ATK to 3000! But that's not all! I now add in Gear Golem the Moving Fortress's effect by paying 800 Life Points, putting me at 1050 LP! Now... attack Mel-chan's Life Points directly!"

Melody blinked in surprise, her LP dropped from 3500 to 500 as she smiled in surprise. "What a combo, Taro-kun! Did you have this all planned out after you had gotten Graceful Charity?"  
"Naw! It just came to me!" Taro chuckled as he said "I will now set one card down, to end my turn. And that means Gear Golem's gone." He took Gear Golem's card, then placed it into his Graveyard pile.

Melody smiled as she said "My turn." She drew her next card, then said "I will now play Haniwa in Attack Mode!"  
She played her third Haniwa in Attack Mode, then she said "I will have Mega Thunderball and Haniwa attack your Sheep Tokens." Taro took his Sheep Tokens away, just knowing what was going on. He knew he was beat at Melody then said "Now, Gigobyte, direct attack for the win."

Taro then said "OK! I now play Cyclone to destroy your Sword of the Soul-Eater!"  
Suddenly, Melody's Gigobyte's ATK was dropped from 3350 to 350, nailing Taro, his LP dropped from 1050 to 700 points.  
Melody smiled then said "I will now end my turn."

Taro blinked as he said "OK.. my turn then..." He drew his next card, seeing that perhaps Melody was excepting defeat. He looked at it and said "I now play Mechanicalchaser in Attack Mode!"

Taro's Monster Summon was a round Machine with part of yellow around its' top, a sword along its' body, small metal pincers on its' left side, one holding a spear, and the other side had a bladed arm, as well as sword for another arm.

MECHANICALCHASER  
Dark/Machine/4/1850 ATK/800 DEF

Taro then said "Mechanicalchaser, take out Gigobyte." Mechanicalchaser had no delay, and it won Taro the Duel. Melody exhaled, but smiled sweetly still. "Thank you again for teaching me the game, Taro. I had so much fun Dueling! Is this how it feels for you all the time?"  
"Yeah, to be honest, it does." Taro smiled. "And you definitely built a good Deck! You had me on the ropes those last few times! So, next time, we get someone else to Duel against you, and then we can really see your Deck cut loose!"

Melody blushed but smiled. "I'd like that. But... I guess my parents are going to wonder where you are." She slid out of her chair, then smiled as she said "Shall we go?"  
Taro leapt out of his chair and nodded. "Heck yeah! Let's go!" Taro chuckled, as he ran up to Melody's side, but then blinked. "Oh! Our Decks!"

Melody then gasped as both grabbed their Decks, putting them back together as Taro placed his into his backpack, then he followed right behind Melody, whom had her Deck in her hand. Melody was about 5' 5" and Taro was 5' 2". But neither minded that, since their friendship, and perhaps something more, would grow easily, as well as endure.

To Be Continued...


	7. The Return of Jonny Steps

The Return of Johnny Steps

A day or so after Taro had gone to Melody's, Yugi was walking home with Téa, since Joey and Tristan had to go to work for the time, Bakura was at home already, Duke had to tend to things at the Black Crown Game Shop his family owned, and Taro and Melody were hanging out at her place. Yugi had his hands behind his head, thinking. Téa looked over at him, her arms behind her back as she said "Yugi, is something on your mind?"  
"Yeah. I just was wondering about those Card Hunters... and why we haven't heard anything from them. Makes me wonder if something big is up." He then stopped when he saw a report on some TVs nearby. Téa stopped also as the two turned.

"And to repeat earlier reports, game designer, Pegasus J. Crawford, was attacked yesterday, by an unknown assailant at his home outside of San Franciso. Reports released by Industrial Illusions employees say that the attacker came in fast and then was gone, but some guards were unconscious at the time, so the information given may not be 100 accurate. No injuries were placed on Crawford, but it is still unknown why this occurance had happened.  
"What the-...?" Yugi blinked. "I wonder if the Card Hunters were behind this, Téa."  
"Me too, Yugi. If they wanted a good target for cards, then who better than Pegasus?" Téa added.  
Yugi nodded. "Mmm-hmmm." Yugi then had his arms crossed, exhaling some, eyes closed as he remembered what Senbei told him of the Card Hunters' agenda. He then heard someone say "Yugi Mutoh, I presume?"

Yugi shot his eyes opened and said "Who's there?" He turned quickly as did Téa, the question coming from someone whom was rather tall, with a long sleeved red shirt, some decorative jewelry, a bracelet here, a Native American-style necklace there, black pants with a bandana around the right knee, as well as black shoes. He just lifted up his sunglasses, smiling as he had light brown skin and some dreadlocks as well.

"Wait a minute! I remember you!" Téa said in surprise. "You're Johnny Steps! What the heck are you doing here?"  
Johnny chuckled some as he replied to Téa's query. "Well, Téa, I had to try and find Yugi once more, and you."  
"Me?" Téa blinked as Yugi looked at Johnny.  
"What do you mean?"

"Well, I remembered whatcha said to me, Téa... about not giving up. So, I decided to take off into the world for a bit, work on my game in both Dance Dance Revolution AND in Duel Monsters. So..." Johnny smiled, then pointed to Yugi. "I want to take you on once more, King of Duelists! I want to see how my much improved Deck stands up to your famed Deck!"  
"Say what...?" Yugi blinked in surprise.  
Johnny turned his back to them, then turned his face back to them, smiling. "Well, we're going to need to go to KaibaLand if we're going to do this. So do you accept the challenge?"  
Yugi nodded slowly, confused.

A bit later, at the KaibaLand amusment park, set up by Seto Kaiba while he was in Japan, Yugi, Johnny, and Téa walked to one of the Dueling Arenas so Yugi and Johnny could Duel. KaibaLand Japan was meant to be a place for fans of Duel Monsters, Duelists, and more to go and to have fun, as it was also set up with Duel Arenas, much like the ones used during Pegasus's famed Duelist Kingdom tournament. Yugi looked on as Johnny walked to one side of the Duel Arena set up. It had a large playing field, with 2 platforms apart from each other. One was red, the other was blue. The chrome design for it was most interesting, but sleek too.

Yugi then whispered to Téa. "What the heck is goin' on?"  
Téa knelt down, whispering to Yugi softly. "Well, you remember when Atem and I went on that 'date' of ours before Battle City, Yugi? I played him in a game of Dance Dance Revolution, then Johnny took Atem on in a Duel, and well... that's why this is all happening. Sorry."  
"Don't be. I don't mind a Duel. Besides, it could be fun!" Yugi smiled as he walked to the blue Duel Platform, with Johnny at the red. Johnny spoke to Yugi, smiling. "All right, we'll Duel with 4000 Life Points, Yugi! Same rules as Battle City, just no card being put up as ante. That OK with you?"  
Yugi nodded softly. "Yeah." He took his Deck from the deck holder he had attached to his belt, placing it down as Johnny placed a Deck down also. Both looked at each other then said at the same time "DUEL!"

Both Yugi and Johnny now had 5 cards in their hands as Johnny said "Alright! I'll start off!" Johnny drew his sixth card, examining his hand as he then smiled, saying "I summon Spirit of the Harp in Defense Mode to get us started off!"  
Johnny's leading summon was that of a beautiful girl, whom held a wooden harp against her yellow robes, with 2 blue round covers of sorts over her ears, her light green hair slightly showing as she smiled.

SPIRIT OF THE HARP  
Light/Angel/4/800 ATK/2000 DEF

"And to continue, I will set one card face-down and end my turn." Johnny smiled.  
"My turn! Draw!" Yugi drew his sixth card, looking at it. His hand had some decent cards to it. Yugi knew none of his current Monsters were good enough to attack Johnny's strong defender, so he decided to improvise until he could get a stronger Monster out. He took a card in his hand and said "I play Giant Soldier of Stone in Defense Mode!"

A large gigantic golem-like creature with two sheathes for swords on its' shoulders appeared on Yugi's side of the Field, kneeling down, with its' arms crossed over into an X in front of its' body.

GIANT SOLDIER OF STONE  
Earth/Rock/3/1300 ATK/2000 DEF

"Next, I set one card face-down!" Yugi placed the card onto the play zone of his Duel Platform, as a large Duel Monsters card appeared, face-down behind Giant Soldier of Stone as Yugi said "And that's the end of my turn."  
"My turn." Drawing his next card, Johnny looked at it and smiled. He then said "I now will play the Magic Card, Stop Defense!"  
Yugi looked on and thought quickly "Uh-oh! Not good..."  
"That's right, not good. When this Magic Card is activated, I can change the battle position of 1 Monster on your side of the Field that's in Defense Mode, and change it to Attack Mode! So I will do so to Giant Soldier of Stone!"

STOP DEFENSE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Select 1 of your opponent's Defense Mode Monsters and switch it to Attack Mode. If the chosen Monster Card is face-down, flip it face-up. If the card has a Flip Effect, it is activated.

Téa looked on as she thought 'He really has improved!'  
Johnny then smiled as Yugi's Giant Soldier of Stone turned from Defense Mode to Attack Mode. Yugi blinked in surprise at this as Johnny then smiled and said "I will now play Hibikime in Attack Mode!"

A beautiful girl with a long green dress, blue hair, pale skin, a note-shaped scythe, and a smile with her blue lips.

HIBIKIME  
Earth/Warrior/4/1450 ATK/1000 DEF

"Hibikime, attack Giant Soldier of Stone!" Hibikime charged forward and slashed Giant Soldier of Stone right in half, destroying it and dealing 150 points of damage to Yugi's LP, placing him at 3850 right at the moment.

"Nice move." Yugi replied, smiling.  
"Thank you. I will next place one card face-down to end my turn." Johnny said, smiling.  
"My turn then! Draw!" Yugi drew his next card then said "I will now activate my set Trap Card, Call of the Haunted!"

Yugi then watched the field as a purple mist appeared on the Field as Giant Soldier of Stone was back on the Field in Attack Mode. Johnny blinked as he thought 'What is that guy up to?'  
"I will next sacrifice Giant Soldier of Stone to summon Chaos Command Magician in Attack Mode!"

The Monster summoned in Giant Soldier of Stone's place had a long magician's cap, a short staff, a cape, as well as armor of green and yellow, with a light blue face with some black markers down his cheeks some, as well as red rune stones embedded along the collar of the cape, the top of his gauntlets, as well as his cap. He twirled his staff then thrusted it forward.

CHAOS COMMAND MAGICIAN  
Light/Spellcaster/6/2400 ATK/1900 DEF  
Effect: Negate the effect of a Monster Card that specifically designates this 1 card as a target.

"Chaos Command Magician, attack Hibikime!"  
Chaos Command Magician leapt up into the air, his staff shining brightly, as he then shot a blast of energy forward, blowing Hibikime away, and dealing quite a load of damage to Johnny's Life Points as well! To be precise, 950 points, putting Johnny at 3050.

Johnny just smiled as he said "Good move. But what I wanted you to do. I now play Soul Rope!"  
A flash of light appeared as the image of a card appeared, one with a man beginning to glow, with a rope of light going through him, and a monk-like person in robes kneeling near him.

Yugi was familiar with Soul Rope, since he himself used it in his Deck. And he wondered some about what Johnny was going to Special Summon...

SOUL ROPE  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: This card can only be activated when one Monster on your side of the Field is destroyed. Pay 1000 Life Points and Special Summon 1 Level 4 Monster from your Deck to the Field.

"I will now pay 1000 Life Points, and Special Summon... Witch of the Black Forest from my Deck to the Field in Defense Mode!"  
With Johnny's summon, a young woman with a black robe (a light blue color to go with it and an eye in the center of that), purple hair, with a third eye on her forehead, and brown fur-lined ears.

WITCH OF THE BLACK FOREST  
Dark/Spellcaster/4/1100 ATK/1200 DEF  
Effect: When this card is sent from the Field to the Graveyard, move 1 Monster with a DEF of 1500 points or less from your Deck, show it to your opponent it, and add it to your hand. Your Deck is then shuffled.

"And with that.." Yugi said. "I end my turn."  
"Good. My turn! Draw!" Johnny drew his next card, then saw he had gotten Polymerization. He also noticed Lady of Faith in his hand, so he nodded and said "I will now play Polymerization, and send Lady of Faith from my hand, and Witch of the Black Forest from my side of the Field to Special Summon Musician King from my Fusion Deck!"

In a flash of light, Yugi looked on to see that Witch of the Black Forest was gone, and in her place, was a man with a guitar in his hand, his spikey blonde hair sticking up, a red bandana around his forehead, black leather pants, boots, and red gloves with spiked bracelets around his wrists. This card didn't look like much, but it was Johnny's best card.

MUSICIAN KING  
Light/Spellcaster-Fusion/5/1750 ATK/1500 DEF  
"Witch of the Black Forest" + "Lady of Faith"

"And since Witch of the Black Forest was on my side of the Field when I played Polymerization, I will now add 1 Monster with a DEF of 1500 points or less!" He grabbed his Deck, fanning through his cards, then smiled when he had gotten Beautiful Songtress, his card of choice. He showed the card to Yugi and smiled. "So I will add Beautiful Songstress to my hand with Witch of the Black Forest's effect. Now I get to shuffle my Deck."

BEAUTIFUL SONGSTRESS  
Earth/Spellcaster/1/0 ATK/0 DEF  
Effect: While this card is face-up, you can offer it as a Sacrifice to add 1 Magic Card from your Deck to your hand. Your Deck is then shuffled.

Johnny set his hand down, then shuffled his Deck, placing it down, then he said "I will now play Beautiful Songtress in Attack Mode."  
With Johnny's summon, a beautiful woman with long black hair, a red dress, and a standing microphone appeared. Johnny smiled as he said "My vision of loveliness has one interesting effect I want you two to take note of! When I offer her as a Sacrifice, I get to add 1 Magic Card from my Deck to my hand! Beautiful Songstress, hit it!"

Téa blinked, thinking to herself. 'What kind of Magic Card could Johnny add to his hand to help Musician King? Yugi's got a 2400 ATK Monster in play, so there's not much else Johnny could use. But... Musician King's Level... it's...! Wait! If what Yugi told me about Magic Cards, there may be something Johnny's gonna get!'

Yugi looked on as Beautiful Songstress began to sing softly, her body fading away, but her song playing still as Johnny pulled out his Magic Card of choice, smiled and then said "AND NOW...!'  
'Is it what I think he wanted?' Yugi asked himself, looking on as Johnny said "I play Pot of Greed!"

Yugi blinked as he said 'What...? It wasn't what I expected? Is he up to something?'  
Johnny drew two cards, then smiled as he said "Now I will activate my set Trap Card! Activate... METALMORPH!"  
Suddenly, Musician King gained a leather jacket with spikes protruding from the shoulder pads, as well as a different guitar as he grinned.

METALMORPH  
Equip Trap Card  
Effect: After activation, this card ican be equipped to one face-up Monster. The Monster equipped with this card increases its' ATK and DEF by 300 points. When attacking with a Monster equipped with "Metalmorph", you can further increase its' ATK by an amount equal to half of the ATK of the Monster's attack target.

Johnny smiled as he said "Thanks to Metalmorph, my Musician King is now gonna rock harder than ever, with his ATK at 2050, and his DEF at 1800! But now it is time to rock and roll! Musician King! Attack Chaos Command Magician!"  
Musician King took his pick for his guitar and began to play it, waves of sound shooting at Chaos Command Magician, causing him to cry out, as Yugi noticed that Musician King's ATK shot up to 3250, gaining 1200 points from Chaos Command Magician's ATK! That was Metalmorph's true power as then Chaos Command Magician exploded, Yugi covering his body some, his Life Points dropped to 3000.

Johnny smiled as he said "This is why I've been working hard! To get a shot like this against you once more, Yugi Mutoh! You've seen some of my true power at work here, so get ready to feel the burn! I will next set one card face-down... and that ends my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Yugi said, determination coming to his face as he said "I will now play Graceful Charity! This Magic Card lets me draw 3 cards, then discard 2 to the Graveyard!" Yugi had 4 cards in his hand thanks to his earlier plays, but he didn't care for that at the moment. He drew 3 cards, then saw his hand had some good cards to choose from. He nodded and said "I will discard... these 2!" Yugi held up Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 and he also held up Giant Rat, placing them into his Graveyard pile. He then took another card he drew and said "I will now play Monster Reborn!"

In a flash of light, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 reappeared as Yugi said "And I Special Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 back to the Field with Monster Reborn!"  
Horus roared at his return as Johnny said "So? It's still not strong enough to plow through Spirit of the Harp's DEF of 2000, and even without Metalmorph's effect kicking in, it's no match for my Musician King!"

"Who said I was gonna attack? I now play... Level Reverse!" Yugi said, holding a card that showed an image of Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 devolving to LV6, then LV6 devolving down to LV4 as he said "Level Reverse allows me to Sacrifice 1 LV Monster on my side of the Field to Special Summon 1 other Monster with LV within summoning requirements from my hand or Deck! It can be any of them! So... I choose Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6!"

LEVEL REVERSE  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: Offer 1 Monster with "LV" in its' card name on your side of the Field as a Sacrifice to activate this card. Special Summon, within summoning requirements, 1 other Monster with "LV" in its' card name from your hand or Deck to the Field.

In a flash, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 disappeared, and LV6 took his place, roaring. Yugi then said "But I'm not done there, Johnny! I will next play Level Up! This little number is like Level Reverse, only I gotta send my current LV Monster to the Graveyard, then Special Summon 1 other that is written on its' card text! For Horus LV6, that means... one of my best cards... Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!"

LEVEL UP!  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Send 1 face-up Monster on your side of the Field that has "LV" in its' card name to the Graveyard to activate this card. Special Summon the Monster that is written in the card text of that Monster from your hand or Deck, ignoring the Summoning conditions.

Horus LV6 disappeared in a flash as Yugi held up Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8's card and said "Now I play Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 in Attack Mode!" Slapping the card down, Horus LV8 appeared, roaring as Yugi said "Horus! Attack Musician King!"  
Horus LV8's mouth began to glow a blackish blue as it then shot a stream of fire forward as Yugi said "Black Flame Inferno!"  
The fire wrapped around Johnny's Musician King as he cried out, blowing up, Johnny's LP now at 1100. Téa smiled at that and said "Way to go, Yugi!"  
"Yeah... thanks for doing that." Johnny smiled.  
"Why are you thanking me for that?" Yugi blinked.

Johnny chuckled. "Oh, you'll see! You'll see..."  
"Alright... I set a card down, and end my turn." Yugi said, smiling.

"My turn. Draw!" Johnny drew his next card and then said "I will now activate the Trap Card... Skill Drain!"  
Yugi blinked as Johnny said "I know I should be worrying about my Life Points, but with that damned Dragon's effect, I couldn't do a thing. So now... it's sealed, at the cost of 1000 Life Points!" Johnny's LP then dropped from 1100 to 100 as Yugi watched Horus crying out in pain, panting heavily. 'Horus's effect is sealed! Now I can't use Magic Obliteration to stop any of Johnny's Magic Cards!'

"Next, I will play the Magic Card, Mystik Wok! When I offer a Monster on my side of the Field as a Sacrifice, I can call either ATK or DEF, raising my LP by the sacrificed Monster's ATK or DEF! And I choose DEF, so with Spirit of the Harp's Sacrifice, I gain 2000 Life Points!"

MYSTIK WOK  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: Offer 1 Monster on your side of the Field as a Sacrifice. Select the ATK or DEF of the Sacrificed Monster, and increase your Life Points by the same amount.

Johnny's LP was then up to 2100 with the explosion of Spirit of the Harp as Yugi said "Uh-oh!"  
"And next... I play Coins from Heaven!" Johnny said as Yugi knew its' effect well since he also used it. Johnny drew 5 cards, since he had 1 card in his hand, but so did Yugi. He and Yugi both drew 5 cards, making their hand size 6 cards now. Johnny saw one card that'd help and he said "I now play my own copy of Monster Reborn! Musician King! Come on back!"

Leaping up in the air, then landing down and playing his guitar, Musician King returned to the Field with style, his ATK at 1750 again thanks to Metalmorph being in the Graveyard. Johnny then took another card from his hand and said "NOW, I PLAY FUSION WEAPON!"

Téa looked on and said 'Yugi told me about this card! Since Johnny's Musician King, a Fusion Monster, meets Fusion Weapon's Level requirement of 1 to 6, being a Level 5, he'll get an ATK boost of 1500 points plus a DEF boost of 1500 too!'

Yugi looked in shock as Johnny's Musician King was now at 3250 ATK/3000 DEF in just one shot! But Johnny wasn't done there as he said "I now play my next Magic Card, Trap Reconfiguration! This little number has me discard 2 cards to the Graveyard, then I can reactivate 1 Trap Card in my Graveyard! And you know what I am gonna pick!"

TRAP RECONFIGURATION  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Discard 2 cards in your hand to the Graveyard to activate 1 Trap Card in your Graveyard.

Suddenly, Metalmorph was back onto Johnny's Musician King, its' ATK up at 3550 and its' DEF at 3300! Yugi knew this could mean trouble as Johnny then thrusted his index finger forward. "Musician King! Attack Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!"

Musician King aimed his Fusion Weapon charged arm at Horus, his ATK then shooting up by 1500 points thanks to Metalmorph's effect! Now it was at 5050 as Téa gasped then said "Yugi!"  
But it was too late! Musician King's attack fired at Horus, smashing it hard as Horus then exploded. Johnny smiled. "With that last play of mine, Yugi, you lose 2050 Life Points, leaving you at 950."

"Nope! You're wrong!" Yugi said. "I play my set card, Nutrient Z!"  
Flipping up, Yugi's card showed the image of a kind of capsule with the number 4000 on it as well as a Z and a skull marker on the top of it.

NUTRIENT Z  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: This card can only be activated during your opponent's Damage Step. During this turn, if you take Battle Damage of 2000 points or more, increase your Life Points by 4000 points before the damage is subtracted from your Life Points.

"With Nutrient Z, I can only use it during your Damage Step and if I take 2000 points or more of Battle Damage, Johnny. Now, my LP is first gonna go up by 4000 points, to 7000, but then I'll lose the 2050 you said I was gonna lose, putting me at 4950."

'Damn. I forgot how good this guy really is! He knew all along that I was gonna pump up Musician King's ATK! But I guess when he's the King of Duelists, he understands the game so well... so I gotta cut my loss soon, since this could be the end!'  
"Alright, Yugi, I end my turn."

Yugi exhaled and said "Alright. My turn. Draw!" He drew his next card and said "I will now place one card face-down and..." He looked at the Monster he was going to summon, the card that could help him clench the Duel if he played his cards right. He thought 'Kuriboh... you trust me, like I trusted in you as a Deck Master. Even if it doesn't seem like you will, you are gonna help me win the Duel.'

"I will play Kuriboh in Attack Mode!" Yugi summoned Kuriboh out, whom looked like his cousin, Hane Kuriboh, only without angel wings. He blinked then said in a cute voice "Kuri". Johnny blinked then laughed. "You summoned that little furball to the Field? You commiting suicide?"  
"You'll see, Johnny. I end my turn."

KURIBOH  
Dark/Demon/1/300 ATK/200 DEF  
Effect: Discard this card from your hand to make the Battle Damage inflicted to your Life Points by 1 of your opponent's Monsters 0. This effect can only be activated during your opponent's Battle Phase.

Johnny then smiled as he said "My turn then! Draw!" He drew his next card and said "OK! Musician King! ATTACK!"  
Fusion Weapon began to charge up again, Musician King's ATK rised from 3550 by an additional 150 thanks to Kuriboh's 300 ATK to 3700 as it fired. Yugi then said "Activate Trap Card! Different Dimension Tunnel... MIRROR GATE!"

Téa blinked, then gasped at this. "Mirror Gate...?"  
"I knew deep down you were gonna attack anything I threw down on the Field with Musician King after I saw how you went to great lengths to power it up, Johnny! Mirror Gate is just gonna be a little flip-flop since it can only be used in the Battle Phase! Your Monster becomes mine, mine becomes yours!"

DIFFERENT DIMENSION TUNNEL - MIRROR GATE  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: This card can only be activated when you have a Monster on your side of the Field. Switch control of 1 of your Monsters and 1 of your opponent's Monsters during the Battle Phase of the turn this card is activated. The Battle is then conducted as normal. When a Monster destroyed during the Battle Phase is sent from the Field to the Graveyard, it goes to the Graveyard of its' owner.

Suddenly, Musician King appeared on Yugi's side of the Field, then Kuriboh on Johnny's as Musician King fired right at Kuriboh as Johnny's eyes shrunk. "Oh, no! That means that...!"  
"Yeah! You took the Battle Damage I was gonna take!"  
Kuriboh then exploded, as Johnny cried out, taking a whopping 3400 Battle Damage... too much for his LP of 2100 to take as Yugi smiled and said "That's game!"  
Johnny sighed sadly as Téa cheered, clapping her hands happily as Yugi waved, his cheeks a tad red.

After the Duel, Johnny hung his head and sighed. "I still can't believe all my hard work was tossed down the drain..."  
"Hey, come on, Johnny, you were great out there." Téa said, smiling as she patted his shoulder. "You did excellent against Yugi, even better than the last time you Dueled against him."  
"I suppose..."  
"Hey, I had fun! That's what I think matters... that we had fun with the Duel." Yugi smiled. "I think that a person whom is a true Duelist is someone who can have fun in a Duel, and so much more. Winning is all well and good, but the Duel itself should be fun."

Johnny blinked at this, and Téa just warmly smiled, Yugi smiling also as he had his arms at his sides. Johnny then smiled and said "Well, Yugi, I'll tell you this much. I did have fun in that Duel! I wouldn't have guessed how good you were really at all! Next time, perhaps I could beat you. So, for now... I gotta go! See ya." Johnny waved as he then walked off, Téa and Yugi looking at each other then chuckling as Téa said "Hey, Yugi... do you think you could help me to be a better Duelist?"  
"What brought this on?"  
"Well... seeing you Duel so well, all the times that you have, and I've seen it... it makes me wanna try harder... to do something more outside of my giving support. So could you help?"  
Yugi blinked, but then smiled. "That, I can do!" Téa smiled also, as the two friends then walked out, heading for Téa's home. It was unsure of what was going to happen next... but whatever would, it would come well.

To Be Continued...


	8. Lovely Daisy and Deadly Rose! Assault of

Lovely Daisy and Deadly Rose! Assault of the Nature Spirits

Yugi was just sitting in class, beginning to write his homework carefully. He slowly felt drowsiness overcoming him. He had a hard time getting to sleep the night before... because he just was swamped with homework then also! He then gave into the feeling of lethargy and fell asleep, his head resting on his book. What he saw while asleep... he saw images of an angel, a large muscular one with black and white robes like a Greek toga, with 6 white wings, and 6 black wings... as well as a woman. He then heard a voice, seeing Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4, calling his name.

He groaned as he then heard his teacher shout out. "MR. MUTOH!"  
Yugi cried out, falling backwards, groaning as he blushed, everyone in the room save for Téa chuckling at him as he sighed, getting up slowly. It just felt like an ordinary day for Yugi, but... what he didn't know was that the day was going to get much odder than expected!

Yugi just walked out of class, heading off to his locker to get some things out, when he saw something slip out. "Huh?" Yugi replied, leaning down to pick up the object. It was an envelope. He looked in surprise, to see it was addressed to him. Melody, who was getting out of her own class, looked over at her friend and said "Yugi!"  
Yugi looked over at her then said "Hey, Melody."

"What's with the envelope? Someone passing notes around the campus?"  
"Dunno. It was in my locker when I went to get some stuff. I wonder what it says..."  
Melody smiled and said "Open it up and see! We got some time before class,and I am sure the others had other things to get before class also."

"Good idea." Yugi gulped softly, slowly opening the envelope and pulled out a letter. He was surprised by this, as well as Melody, who leaned over his shoulder softly when he began to read this letter written to him.

"Dear Yugi,  
I wanted to say how long I have wanted to meet you. I've watched you from afar, admiring not only your Dueling skills, but your kind heart as well. If you wish to meet me, please come to the campus of Tenyori Academy at around 4 o' clock today, with your Dueling Deck and your Duel Disk.

See you soon,  
Your Secret Admirer"

Yugi blushed at this then said "Wow."  
"I agree with you. This was something unexpected. I wonder why at Tenyori Academy though. That is one of the most prestigous schools in all of Domino City. And besides, Yugi, I thought Téa was your girlfriend!"  
Yugi blushed even more at that quote from Melody as he said "No... she's never seen me as anything more than a friend. So, maybe I should try to stop waiting for her to like me, like how she liked the other me, and do something for myself."  
"Uhm... what other you, Yugi?"  
'Oh, yeah! Melody doesn't know about the other me!' "Well, it's a long story, but I'll keep it short. I used to have another soul in my Millennium Puzzle. That's it."  
"Really?"  
"Yup! Well, I should keep thinking about this, Melody. Bye!" Yugi then bolted off.  
Melody blinked at that and said "I guess there's a lot about Yugi and the others I don't know yet. I got to ask more sometime. But for now, I think I should mention this to some of the others."

At lunch, Yugi was still looking at the note, sitting, surprisingly, away from the others. Melody looked over at Taro and Téa, since Joey and Tristan were at work, sanctioned by the school of course, Duke had taken a trip out to the United States for a bit of time, and Bakura wasn't feeling well. "So, it's like I said. Yugi found this note in his locker, and decided he's going to meet his secret admirer at Tenyori Academy."

"Tenyori Academy? Uhm, Mel, Téa, where IS Tennyori Academy...? I haven't lived here in Domino that long."  
Téa looked at Yugi for a moment, frowning some, as Taro said "Téa? Téa? Téa!"  
Gasping, the young brunette shook her head then said "Well, Tenyori Academy is on one of the other sides of town. It's pretty much the most prestigous school, where only the best and brightest, as well as the richest, can go to get a world-class education. I wonder if this person has seen Yugi in different parts of town, besides just on TV. I wonder why he is going to go do this... it's very odd.."

"Oh, c'mon, Téa! You may not see it, but I do! I've seen it for quite a bit o' time!" Taro replied, sipping his milk.  
"What is, Taro?" Melody asked, her hands folded onto her lap as she looked over to the shorter of the two Mutohs.

Taro set his milk bottle down some, then said "Yugi's been crushin' on Téa for a long while now. But he told me she's never accepted him as anything more than a friend, considering he knew how she felt about the other Yugi, aka Atem, so he just kept it inside, and that's it. But I guess now he's sick and tired of waitin' to say what's in his heart since he may assume you still are crushin' over a dead dude, Téa, even if he was kinda like Yugi from what I heard. All in all, it's about YOU being honest with your feelings and that's that!"

Taro then got up slowly, speaking again. "If we're gonna tail Yugi, we gotta do it ninja-like. When Yugi heads off, we follow, OK?"  
Melody and Téa both nodding, with Taro's words ringing in her ears and in her heart as well. She just stood up slowly, then headed off, head hung down some.

After school ws done, Yugi had gone home to get changed as well as to get his Deck and Duel Disk, then, once in his purple buttoned up shirt, and grey slacks, he was off to Tenyori Academy, but unbeknownest to him, Taro in his jacket, a black tanktop, and some faded blue jeans, Téa in a white mini-skirt which stopped about her knees, and a long sleeved black shirt that said "Wave Body" on it, and Melody, who was in a frilly blue and white dress, peeked their heads around the corner, then followed right behind Yugi carefully, so he wouldn't see them coming...

Running along, Yugi looked about the streets on the northern end of Domino City, coming up to a gate, with a plaque along part of the wall that said "Tenyori Private Academy" on it. Yugi looked up and thought 'Here it is...'  
He slowly walked into the courtyard, noticing the gate was left open for some reason.

Casually, Yugi looked about the large courtyard, which had marble gracing it, as well as lovely flowers and trees, and even a water fountain. He was in awe of the look of the school, so he looked around still, speaking up some "Hello?"

Téa, Taro, and Melody all peeked around the corner as Téa said "Something about this doesn't sound right... ohhhh, why did Yugi do this!"  
Melody then said "I already told you. He said he was tired of waiting for you to like him so he decided to do this for himself."  
"Girls, we gotta keep it down or else Yugi's gonna know about us bein' here!"

Yugi looked about, then heard a door open up slowly. He, Melody, Taro, and Téa all looked ahead at the door, and saw a young girl, about Yugi's age, with a long white pleated skirt, a pink blazer, a yellow blouse, and a red bow tied around her neck. This girl had blonde hair, tied into two curly pigtails, with small red ribbons tying her hair up as she smiled. "Glad you came, Yugi!"

"Uh, are you the one who sent me the letter?"  
"Actually..." The girl said, the sound of clanking coming from her brown dress shoes. "My friend from Domino High, Sakura, had placed it there for me. My name is Mary Misumi, and it's a pleasure to meet you, Yugi-chan."

'Yugi-chan!' Taro, Melody, and Téa both said, looking in surprise at this!  
"Yugi... chan...? Me...?" Yugi replied, then shook his head rapidly. "Uhm... how come you wanted me to bring my Deck and my Duel Disk too...?"  
Mary stepped downward, then flicked out her Duel Disk, closing it to the ready position. "Well, I wanted to ask an odd thing... if you do not mind. I want to Duel you... and if I win... I... I want you to be my fianceé!"

Everyone looked in shock at this, as Téa was now biting on her palm, which was tensed due to how she was feeling deep inside. Yugi then said "What if I win? Do I get something outta this if I win!"

"Well, you can ask me anything you'd like if you win, Yugi-chan. So, what do you say?" Mary replied, smiling, holding a Deck in her hand.  
Yugi then exhaled and said "OK, I'll do it." He pulled his own Deck out and slapped it into the Deck Holder of his Duel Disk, with Mary doing the same as she stood on the stairs, smiling as Yugi looked at her, both saying "Duel!"

Yugi's Life Points - 4000  
Mary's Life Points - 4000

Both of them drew their first hand of 5 cards, then Mary said "My turn!" She drew her sixth card, examining her hand carefully. She then took one Monster in her hand and said "I'll summon Arlownay in Defense Mode!"  
The summon that Mary had made created what looked to be a smaller Rose Spectre of Dunn, only with a rose red top, light olive green skin, blue hair, a purple batch of rose petals underneath her, as well as dark green thorns around her.

ARLOWNAY  
Earth/Plant/3/800 ATK/1000 DEF

"And next up, I will end my turn." She then smiled cutely, then replied "Your move."  
"OK then. My turn... draw..." Yugi replied, drawing his sixth card as he looked at his hand, wondering what to do. He then smiled and said "I will play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts in Attack Mode!"  
With Yugi's summon, a yellow furred lion like creature with dark brown fur around its' legs, near the ankles, yellow eyes, a giant horn, a long tail, and a fearsome appearance landed on Yugi's side of the Field, roaring.

GAZELLE THE KING OF MYTHICAL BEASTS  
Earth/Beast/4/1500 ATK/1200 DEF

"Gazelle, attack Arlownay!" Yugi's command allowed Gazelle to charge forward, who leapt into the air and slashed Arlownay right in half. Yugi then blinked, thinking to himself. 'Is Mary setting me up? Why else would she play Arlownay in Defense Mode...? Can't worry about it now! Gotta be careful.'  
"I'll then set one card face-down and end my turn." Yugi replied, a face-down Duel Monsters card appearing in front of him, as he was ready to make his next move.

"My turn. Draw!" Mary called out, smiling sweetly as she said "And now, I play the Magic Card, Thorn's Blockade!"

THORN'S BLOCKADE  
Permanent Magic Card  
Effect: Select 1 Monster on your opponent's side of the Field. As long as this card is face-up on the Field, the chosen Monster cannot change its' battle position or attack. If the chosen Monster is removed from the Field, this card is destroyed. When this card is destroyed, you and your opponent draw 1 card from your respective Decks, then take 1 card in your respective hands and place them on the bottom of your respective Decks.

Yugi looked in shock as Gazelle suddenly wrapped in thorns, crying out as it tried to struggle out. Yugi then turned to Mary and said "What the-? What'd you do to Gazelle!"  
"Your Mythical Beast King is temporarily indisposed of, since he can't attack or change his battle position. That's the beauty of my Nature Spirits. Now it's time for me to bring some insurance in play, Yugi-chan! I play Lord Poison in Attack Mode!"

The summon Melody made had created a wood-like creature appear, with a black thorn around its' eyes... as well as black spikes protruding from its' shoulders, chest, and back, with a long tail and black nails... two of them on each arm.

LORD POISON  
Water/Plant/4/1500 ATK/1000 DEF  
Effect: When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard as a result of Battle, Special Summon 1 Plant-Type Monster in your Graveyard except "Lord Poision" on your side of the Field.

"Now, I got just 4 cards left. Next, I set a card face-down and end my turn."  
A flash appeared with a large Duel Monsters card in front of her as she smiled. Yugi then drew his next card, now having drawing Fusion sage. He noticed Berfomet in his hand, and said "Alright! I play Fusion Sage!"

Yugi pulled his Deck out, looking around his cards then smiled, getting one of his 2 copies of Polymerization, adding it swiftly to his hand, smiling.

FUSION SAGE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Add 1 copy of "Polymerization" from your Deck to your hand. Your Deck is then shuffled.

"And now! I am gonna play Polymerization, which I just added to my hand thanks to Fusion Sage, and I'll send Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts from my side of the Field and the Berfomet in my hand!"

With the play of Polymerization, Thorn's Blockade withered away, and a red demon with four arms, a black mane, yellow horns, white wings, black fur along its' middle, waist area, and black fur around its' ankles, arms, and chest.

BERFOMET  
Dark/Demon/5/1400 ATK/1800 DEF  
Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned or Flip Summoned, you can add 1 "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" from your Deck to your hand.

Soon, Gazelle and Berfomet swirled together, then out came a twin-headed chimera of some kind, with a snake tail, two heads, one resembling Gazelle, the other the same only with 2 horns like Berfomets, and white wings as it roared.

"And now, time for you to meet Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!"

CHIMERA THE FLYING MYTHICAL BEAST  
Wind/Beast-Fusion/6/2100 ATK/1800 DEF  
"Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" + "Berfomet"  
Effect: If this card is destroyed, you may Special Summon 1 "Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts" or "Berfomet" from your Graveyard to the Field in face-up Attack or Defense Mode.

Mary smiled, and said "Thanks to you destroying Thorn's Blockade, we both get to draw 1 card, then place 1 in our hands to the bottom of our Decks." Both Yugi and Mary drew their cards, as Yugi smiled, then said "I got a special card of mine with the effect of Thorn's Blockade. I will now Special Summon Watapon in Defense Mode!"

A small white furry creature with big blue eyes, and small antenna with white fur at the end appeared on the Field next to Chimera, its' card turned horizontally to indictate it was in Defense Mode. Yugi knew he had to be careful, since he knew nothing about Mary's Deck so far.

WATAPON  
Light/Angel/1/200 ATK/300 DEF  
Effect: If this card is added to your hand from your Deck by the effect of a Magic Card, Trap Card, or Effect Monster Card, you can Special Summon this card on your side of the Field.

"And then... the bottom of our Decks." Yugi took one card from his hand, which was Curse of Dragon, and placed it on the bottom of his Deck, as Mary did the same with her card of choice. Mary smiled then said "And next... I play my Quickplay Magic Card, Reload! This little beauty lets me add my hand to my Deck, shuffle it, then draw the same number of cards I placed in my Deck! I have 3, so I place 3 in my Deck, then..." Mary pulled her Deck out, shuffling her Deck, then she slapped it back into her Duel Disk, drawing 3 cards to add to her hand, getting back the card she had placed at the bottom of her Deck.

CURSE OF DRAGON  
Dark/Dragon/5/2000 ATK/1500 DEF

RELOAD  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: Add your hand to your Deck and shuffle it. Then draw the same number of cards that you added to your Deck.

Mary smiled then said "You may continue your turn, Yugi-chan.", followed by a wink.  
Yugi blushed for a second at that, while near the gate. Téa looked a tad jealous, but Yugi shook it off and said "Will do! Since I haven't made a Normal Summon, I will! I now play Obnoxious Celtc Guardian in Attack Mode."

Yugi's summon allowed a Monster with brown cloth, tight to his body, green and white armor on his shoulders and chest, elfish ears, blonde hair, a helmet with a celtic style to it, a red dot in the center, with two cresent style shapes along the top of the helmet, sword in one hand, with two gauntlets sans gloves with silver and yellow, beige pants, brown boots, a purple cape, and a blue sash along his sides. He then held his sword in both hands tightly as Yugi smiled softly.

OBNOXIOUS CELTIC GUARDIAN  
Earth/Warrior/4/1400 ATK/1200 DEF  
Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in a battle with Monsters with an ATK of 1900 points or higher (damage calculations apply normally).

"Now, it's my turn to make some damage! Chimera! Attack Lord Poison!" Chimera stampeded across the grounds of Tenyori Academy, and as it came at Lord Poison, Yugi shouted "Impact Dash!" Chimera then smashed head first into Lord Poison's chest, destroying it with one blow, as Mary's LP dropped by 600 points to 3400 LP. Mary smiled then said "Thanks to Lord Poison's effect, I can now Special Summon 1 Plant-Type Monster other than Lord Poison from my Graveyard to the Field since it was destroyed in battle! And I Special Summon Arlownay in Defense Mode!"

With Mary's summon, Arlownay returned to the Field immediately, arms crossed over her body. Yugi then thrusted his arm forward. "Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, attack Arlownay!"  
Obnoxious Celtic Guardian charged right at Arlownay, leaping up, then slashing her right in half. Mary then said "Trap Card, activate! Photosynthesis!"

PHOTOSYNTHESIS  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: You can activate this card when a Plant-Type Monster on your side of the Field is destroyed as a result of Battle. Special Summon 1 Plant-Type Monster from your Deck whose Star Level is the same as the destroyed Monster's.

A flash of light overcame where Arlownay was, as a plant began to grow from the sunlight, then out of nowhere, a small sprite with leaves for wings, a brance with leaves in its' hand, its' whole body made of wood, as well as a leaf over its' face, a yellow and green set of robes appeared, floating down.

'What is that card?' Téa whispered to Taro.  
'Woodland Sprite. I wonder why Mary's gonna use that... even if her Deck is Plant-themed as it would seem...' Taro whispered back to her.  
'I don't know... Yugi... be careful...' Téa had replied, her hand resting against her chest softly.

WOODLAND SPRITE  
Earth/Plant/3/900 ATK/400 DEF  
Effect: Send an Equip Magic Card equipped to this Monster to the Graveyard to inflict 500 points of Direct Damage per Equip Magic Card to your opponent's Life Points.

"Turn end." Yugi replied, taking no other course of action. Mary drew her next card, then winked, smiling as she said "Now, I play Pot of Greed!" She quickly drew 2 cards, her hand now at 5 as she smiled, then said "I will now set one card down, and play Rosering of Light!"  
Suddenly, a ring of roses, which began to glow, wrapped around Woodland Sprite, its' ATK going up to 1400 points, and its' DEF going up by going up to 900 points.

ROSERING OF LIGHT  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: A Plant-Type Monster equipped with this card increases its' ATK and DEF by 500 points. When this card is sent from the Field to the Graveyard, destroy 1 Magic or Trap Card on the Field.

"Now, I will send Rosering of Light to the Graveyard thanks to Woodland Sprite's effect, and inflict 500 points of Direct Damage to your Life Points!"  
Yugi cried out, getting blasted by some light, skidding back some, his LP dropped to 3500 points. Mary then smiled and said "And thanks to Rosering of Light's effect, I can destroy 1 Magic or Trap Card on the Field! So I destroy your set card. Let's just see what you have done, Yugi-chan!"

Yugi's set down card flipped face-up, and thus revealed was his set card, Different Dimension Tunnel - Mirror Gate, as he cried out, watching it explode into nothing. Mary then smiled, examining her hand as she said "I will now sacrifice Woodland Sprite then summon Purple Violet Sprite!"

In a flash of light, a purple-skinned sprite with red hair, a set of red robes, dark brown Roman-style sandals, violet petals around the ankles of her sandals, smiling.

PURPLE VIOLET SPRITE  
Earth/Plant/6/2200 ATK/1600 DEF  
Effect: When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, send 1 Plant-Type Monster in your hand or on your side of the Field to the Graveyard to Special Summon this card to the Field during your next Standby Phase.

"Violet Sprite, attack Chimera!" Purple Violet Sprite raised her hands up, then shot a series of petals forward, which circled around Chimera, then impaled him, dropping Yugi's LP to 3400 now. "Now you activate Chimera's effect. I get to Special Summon either Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts or Berfomet from my Graveyard! And I choose Berfomet!"

Berfomet returned to the Field, kneeling down, its' arms crossed over its' body.  
"Well, this is intriguing. Now I end my turn." Mary smiled sweetly. "I can see it now, Yugi-chan... when we get married, can we please have all kinds of flowers all over the church so we can celebrate the beauty they have?"  
"Hey, wait, we aren't getting married yet! And if I have anything to say about it, I'm not going to lose so easily." Yugi then drew his next card, examining his hand. He nodded, then said "I will now sacrifice Watapon and Berfomet to summon a stronger Monster!"

In a flash, Berfomet and Watapon were gone as Yugi showed his card of choice to Mary. "So I summon Buster Blader in Attack Mode!"

Yugi's summon allowed a large dark blue and gold armored warrior with a large golden handled sword to take the Field, arms crossed as he landed down next to Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, his red eyes looking over at Mary's side of the Field.

BUSTER BLADER  
Earth/Warrior/7/2600 ATK/2300 DEF  
Effect: The ATK of this card increases by 500 points for every Dragon-Type Monster on your opponent's side of the Field and in his/her Graveyard.

"Buster Blader! Attack Purple Violet Sprite!" Buster Blader heard his Duelist's controller's command, then charged right at Purple Violet Sprite, pulling his large dragonslayer's sword, and slashed her in half, dropping Mary's LP to 3200 points. Mary took a card from her hand and slipped it into the Graveyard as she said "Now I get to activate Purple Violet Sprite's effect. So I had to discard a Plant-Type Monster from my hand to the Graveyard to use it. But you'll see the results soon, Yugi-chan!"

Yugi blinked then said "Now you're just wide open! Obnoxious Celtic Guardian! Attack her Life Points directly!" Obnoxious Celtic Guardian then ran quickly towards Mary, leaping up to slash at Mary, but then Mary said "Trap Card! Plant Barrier!"

PLANT BARRIER  
Continuous Trap Card  
Effect: While this card is face-up on the Field, you can remove 1 Plant-Type Monster in your Graveyard from play during your opponent's Battle Phase to reduce any Battle Damage inflicted to your Life Points to 0.

"I will now remove Lord Poison in my Graveyard from play to protect my Life Points!" Suddenly, a series of thorns appeared around her, blocking Obnoxious Celtic Guardian's sword, as she smiled. "There we go... now I'm safe."

"For now. Next I'll set a card face-down to end my turn." Yugi now had only 3 cards in his hand... just a bit of nervousness on his face since he knew he could possibly lose, but then he smiled, remembering he was having fun.

'Yugi, please... I... I...'  
Taro looked at Téa and whispered 'Téa, you OK?'  
'Ye-yeah... I guess I am trying to be honest about my feelings like you suggested I do... and... I just wanna shout out to Yugi to give it his all. Should we...?'  
'It is your call, Taro. After all, Yugi's your family.' Melody replied.  
'Let's do it!' Taro shot up, Téa and Melody rushing behind as Taro shouted "COME ON YUGI! YOU CAN DO IT!"  
Yugi and Mary looked in surprise, turning to see Taro, Melody, and Téa standing behind Yugi. Blinking, the King of Duelists then said "Taro? Melody? Téa?"

"Yugi, you can win this! You're known as the King of Duelists after all." Melody had said, holding her hands down near her waist.  
Téa looked a bit embarassed then smiled. "You know, Yugi, as odd as this may sound... during your Duel with Atem, deep down, I wanted you to win... even if I knew I at times wanted Atem to win... but as much as it hurt, I wanted you to win."  
"Téa..."  
"So show me the kind of power you've gained since that day!" Téa shouted happily.

Yugi smiled and said "OK!"  
"My turn. Draw." Mary drew her next card, as she said "Come back, Purple Violet Sprite!"  
Purple Violet Sprite returned to the Field, landing down in front of Mary as she then smiled and said "Next I activate the Magic Card, Magical Fertilizer!"

MAGICAL FERTILIZER  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Offer 1 Monster on your side of the Field as a Sacrifice to Special Summon 1 Plant-Type Monster from your hand or Deck to the Field. The Special Summoned Monster cannot attack during this turn, and must meet summoning requirements.

Suddenly, a blast of light shot around Purple Violet Sprite as Mary smiled then said "I will now Special Summon... Lovely Daisy from my Deck to the Field!"  
In a flash of light, Mary slapped down a card, which revealed a white petaled daisy, which opened slowly to show a long haired woman of great beauty, her blonde hair cascading all over the front of her body, lips that were red, green vines connecting her body to the large daisy flower, as she smiled.

LOVELY DAISY  
Light/Plant/8/2700 ATK/2100 DEF  
Effect: Offer 1 Plant-Type Monster on your side of the Field as a Sacrifice to destroy 1 card on your opponent's side of the Field. This effect can only be used once per turn. When this card destroys 1 of your opponent's Monsters as a result of Battle, increase your Life Points by the base ATK of the destroyed Monster Card.

Mary took another card from her hand and said "Now I play Graceful Charity!" Mary quickly drew 3 cards, her hand now at 4 cards as she looked at what she had to do next and nodded, discarding two Monsters, then keeping her lone Magic Card and remaining Monster left over in her hand. She smiled then said "Next, I will play Roses of Blessing!"  
With Mary's play, a beautiful field of flowers appeared on the Field as Yugi looked about, confused. "What the...?"

"Well, Roses of Blessing has this effect after I get a Plant-Type Monster on the Field, then pay 800 Life Points... you have 2 choices, Yugi-chan. Either we both draw until we get 6 cards in hand, then discard the number of cards we have drawn to the Graveyard from our Decks, or I get to Special Summon up to 2 Plant-Type Monsters from my Graveyard to the Field.. Well?"

ROSES OF BLESSING  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: This card cannot be activated unless you have a Plant-Type Monster on your side of the Field. Pay 800 Life Points. After this card is activated, your opponent chooses one of the followings effects and resolve it;  
-Both players draw until they have 6 cards in their hands, then discard the same number of cards drawn from their Decks to their respective Graveyards.  
-You Special Summon up to 2 Plant-Type Monsters from your Graveyard to the Field.  
Once this card is used, it is removed from play.

Mary's Life Points had dropped from 3200 to 2400 as she smiled. "What will you choose?"  
"I... I choose the first effect!"  
"Man, that musta been hard to do!" Taro exhaled. "One of two effects, and Yugi's gotta choose the effect? Man, Mary gets a benefit either way, even if she's gotta lose LP to use the effect of Roses of Blessing..."  
Melody nodded. "I wonder if she may be toying with Yugi..."  
"Mmmm..." Téa softly replied, holding her hands together, hoping Yugi would win the Duel.

Yugi and Mary both drew cards, Yugi getting 3 new cards, his cards being Hane Kuriboh, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, and Cyclone. None of these could help him at the moment, so he then took 3 cards from his Deck, Sinister Serpent, Breaker the Magical Warrior, and Alpha the Magnet Warrior, placing them into his Graveyard.

Mary drew 5 cards, then placed 5 cards from her Deck into her Graveyard. Yugi then looked over to Mary and said "Just because you replenished your hand may not help you too much, you know."

"But you're wrong, Yugi-chan. It will. I play Lekunga in Attack Mode!"  
Mary's summon created a green orb of a kind, with protruding tentacles, some with spikes on the ends, and a red eye in the center. Mary then smiled and said "I will next use Lekunga's effect, removing 2 Water Attribute Monsters in my Graveyard from play! My two Monsters... are 2 copies of Tentacle Plant!" Two cards slipped out of Mary's Duel Disk's Graveyard slot, as suddenly, a smaller Lekunga floated right next to Lekunga, flailing a bit.

LEKUNGA  
Water/Plant/4/1700 ATK/500 DEF  
Effect: Remove 2 WATER Attribute Monsters in your Graveyard from play to Special Summon 1 "Lekunga Token" (Plant-Type/WATER Attribute/Level 2/ATK 700/DEF 700) in Attack Mode on your side of the Field.

TENTACLE PLANT  
Water/Plant/2/500 ATK/600 DEF

"Lekunga! Attack Obnoxious Celtic Guardian!" Lekunga charged at Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, slamming its' tentacle hard into the elven swordsman, destroying him, and dropping Yugi's LP by 300 points to 3200. Mary then winked and said "Now I play Flower Rush! Normally, my Lovely Daisy couldn't attack, but this lets a Plant-Type Monster attack regardless of Magic or Trap Card effects, but I must discard a card to the Graveyard and once I attack, my Monster goes to Defense Mode."

Mary took a card in her hand and discarded it to the Graveyard quickly and smiled.

FLOWER RUSH  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Discard 1 card in your hand to the Graveyard to allow 1 Plant-Type Monster on your side of the Field to attack regardless of the effects of Magic, Trap, or Effect Monster Cards and conditions. After the attack, your Monster is changed to Defense Mode.

"Lovely Daisy! Attack Buster Blader!" Lovely Daisy raised her arms up, channeling sunlight into the palms of her hands as she shot a blast of energy, forward, destroying Buster Blader, and dropping Yugi's LP to 3100. Mary smiled, raising her arm up as she said "And thanks to Lovely Daisy destroying your Monster, I gain 2600 Life Points." Mary's Life Point Counter began to blip, her Life Points going up to 5000 now thanks to her Daisy's effect. And thus, Daisy's petals covered her as she had gone to Defense Mode.

"And now, your Life Points are open! Lekunga Token! Attack his Life Points directly!" The smaller of the Lekungas shot right at Yugi, smacking him hard in the gut. Yugi cried out some, panting a bit as his Life Points were now at 2400 points, where Mary's LP was just briefly ago. Yugi looked over then stood up slowly, regaining his composure.

Mary smiled sweetly, then bowed. "Turn end."  
"My turn. Draw!" Yugi drew his next card, Sinister Serpent added back to his hand via its' effect, as he was now examining his hand as he looked at his set card. 'I gotta be careful with my set card. As low as my LP is getting, I gotta be smart... but maybe... Yeah! I can buy some time! I can do it!'

"Mary, I just wanted to tell you what fun this Duel has been, even with weird odds. Now, I play Hane Kuriboh in Defense Mode!"  
In a flash of light, and its' Duel Monsters card turned horizontally, Hane Kuriboh took to the Field, letting out a cute "Kuri!" cry, as Mary smiled, then shouted "Ooooohhhhh! It's so cute!"  
"It's even cuter than the original!" Téa replied, holding her hands together as she smiled sweetly, Melody giggling in joy at seeing how cute Hane Kuriboh was.

"I will set a card face-down... and end my turn." Yugi smiled, his two cards next to one another, one for the other.  
Mary smiled then said "My turn." Drawing her next card, Mary spoke again. "I'm sorry I need to get rid of that cutie of a Monster, but I need to do this while I can! Lekunga Token! Attack Hane Kuriboh!"  
The Lekunga Token charged to the Field, then smashed Hane Kuriboh. In a cry of "Kuriii!", Hane Kuriboh exploded, as Mary said "And now! Lekunga! Attack!" Lekunga charged in towards Yugi, but then, an afterimage of Hane Kuriboh appeared, blocking its' attack. Mary blinked at the sight and muttered. "What happened...? How come Lekunga's attack didn't go through...?"

"Hane Kuriboh's effect. When it was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I was able to protect my Life Points so I can get another turn. But now I am gonna activate my set Trap Card from earlier! Come on, Raigeki Break!"

RAIGEKI BREAK  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: Discard 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy 1 card on the Field.

"With Raigeki Break's effect, I'll discard one card from my hand to the Graveyard... and destroy your Lovely Daisy!"  
Yugi took Sinister Serpent from his hand, then a blast of thunder wrapped around Lovely Daisy as she cried out, then exploded into dust as Mary looked in shock. "Lovely Daisy... no..."  
"Sorry to destroy your best Monster, but I know that it was a threat, so I had to get rid of it."

"Oh, but she will be back... I now pay 500 Life Points, and I Special Summon... Deadly Rose!" With the cost of Mary's LP now being at 4500, a black rose appeared on the Field, between Lekunga and the Lekunga Token as it opened, showing a darker looking Lovely Daisy, with blood red lips still, dark purple hair, black rose petal-like armor... and an evil smirk on her face. This was her darker side... Deadly Rose.

DEADLY ROSE  
Dark/Plant/10/3200 ATK/2600 DEF  
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard except by paying 500 Life Points when a face-up "Lovely Daisy" on your side of the Field is destroyed and sent from the Field to the Graveyard. Discard 1 Monster Card in your hand to destroy 1 face-up Monster Card on your opponent's side of the Field. Discard 1 Magic or Trap Card in your hand to destroy 1 Magic or Trap Card on your opponent's side of the Field. These effects can only be used once per turn.

"Now... you're going to face a darker Monster than before, Yugi! But for now... I end my turn."

"My turn. Draw!" Yugi drew his next card, then grabbed Sinister Serpent from his Graveyard to his hand, adding it in to make a total of 7 cards. Yugi's next drawn card was Fissure. The problem was, he couldn't use it without having to worry about Lekunga or its' Token. Yugi then noticed a card he'd drawn last turn... 'Penguin Soldier. Its' Flip Effect will help, if Mary attacks like I am gonna assume she will.' He then ended his thinking process, nodded and said "I will set one Monster face-down and end my turn."

"He set a Monster? Does it mean Yugi has a Flip Effect Monster waiting in the ropes?" Melody asked.  
"Yeah. At this point, Yugi is going to need it. If he doesn't do something fast, he's in big trouble since Mary can then wipe his Life Points out once his Monster is gone, then win the Duel!" Taro replied.  
"Yugi does have one. It'll save him. I can just feel it." Téa replied. "I am close to him, Taro." She then smiled at Yugi's cousin and spoke again. "You see, I saw the stronger sides of Yugi the times he Dueled without Atem... even if most of the Duels ended with him making a sacrifice of a kind. Here, Yugi is at his best, just having fun. He wants to win, but he wants to have more fun also. That is why he is trying to bide his time."

"Well... makes sense..." Taro replied, scratching his head in surprise at how Téa was so... calm at the moment when it came to the Duel.

"My turn." Mary drew her next card and smiled, flicking her hair as she said "Deadly Rose! Time for you to show your work, beauty! Attack Yugi's face-down Monster with Death Forest!"  
Deadly Rose raised her arms up, then slashed them downward, thousands of thorns, ripping into Yugi's face-down Monster! Penguin Soldier was then revealed... a small blue-furred penguin, with red and yellow shoulder armor, and a small sword appeared, sqwuaking happily as Yugi smiled.

PENGUIN SOLDIER  
Water/Aqua/3/750 ATK/500 DEF  
Effect: Flip: You can return up to 2 Monster Cards from the Field to their owner's hand.

"I knew it! And since you flipped up Penguin Soldier, Mary, I get to use its' effect! I'll return Lekunga to your hand, and your Lekunga Token is now bye-bye!" Penguin Soldier slashed the air, blowing Lekunga back to Mary's hand, and the Lekunga Token away since Tokens could not go to a player's hand or the Graveyard.

Mary then blinked and thought 'No way... did he plan this? Did he know I'd attack with Rose because of her ATK by 3200 points? He's the King of Duelists, true, but Yugi-chan couldn't be that good! Could he...?' She shook her head quickly, then exhaled. "I end my turn."

"My turn!" Yugi drew his next card and said "Now, I play Fissure! This Magic Card allows me to destroy 1 face-up Monster on your side of the Field with the lowest ATK, and since Rose is your only Monster, she's out of here!"

FISSURE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Destroy your opponent's face-up Monster with the lowest ATK.

A crack in the earth opened, blowing underneath Deadly Rose as she cried out, disappearing into the earth, leaving Mary's Life Points open... but she still had Plant Barrier in play. Mary then smiled sweetly, reminding Yugi of this by saying "Don't forget, Yugi-chan, I have Plant Barrier in play, so my Life Points are safe."

"Nope. It's toast as of now! I play Cyclone from my hand, and my target is Plant Barrier!" A cyclone of wind wrapped around Plant Barrier, destroying as Yugi said "And now your Life Points are open! I remove Hane Kuriboh and Breaker the Magical Warrior in my Graveyard from play to Special Summon 1 of my strongest Monsters!" Hane Kuriboh and Breaker's cards slipped out of Yugi's Graveyard as Yugi held up his Monster of choice.

"Come on out! Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning!"

BLACK LUSTER SOLDIER - ENVOY OF THE BEGINNING  
Light/Warrior/8/3000 ATK/2500 DEF  
Effect: This card can only first be Special Summoned by removing 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK Monster in your Graveyard from play. Once during each of your turns, you can select and activate one of the following effects;  
-Remove one Monster on the Field from play. If you activate this effect, this card cannot attack during this turn.  
-If this card destroys one of your opponent's Monsters as a result of Battle, it can attack again once in a row.

Yugi slapped down his Monster Card, and out of a bridge of light came a blue and golden armored warrior, an eagle-like head on his chest plate, a sword and a shield in hand as well as a small red ponytail and slight pale skin, as he opened his eyes, then slashed the air. Taro looked in shock and said "One of the Envoys? Oh, no way! I didn't think Yugi would have had one!"

"What is this you are talking about, Taro? You sound... scared..." Melody had said, resting her hand on his shoulder.  
"With good reason, Mel! Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning and Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End are two of the stronger cards in Duel Monsters. Both are Envoys to life and death, and such, their power is derived from chaos! Both are very powerful, even if tough to get out. And Yugi managed to get out the Envoy of the Beginning..."  
"I... I never knew that Yugi would have such a strong Monster in his Deck..." Téa gasped in surprise.

"I also Normal Summon Sinister Serpent in Attack Mode!"  
The green serpentine, bird-winged lizard floated right next to Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning, as Yugi was now ready to strike back with force. "Black Luster Soldier, Sinister Serpent, attack her Life Points directly!"

Both of Yugi's Monsters charged forward, Black Luster Soldier slashing Mary, and Sinister Serpent ramming its' head into her, her Life Points dropped from 4500 to 1200 with just that done! Yugi smiled as he said "And now... I end my turn."

"My turn then." Mary drew her next card, looking in surprise to see she had drawn... Monster Reborn! 'This could be it', she thought! 'If I use Monster Reborn, I can Special Summon back Lovely Daisy... then have him destroy it so I can Special Summon Deadly Rose and decimate him! Then you'll be all mine, Yugi-chan! Once you're my fianceé, we can begin planning the wedding!'

"For my next move, Yugi-chan! I will play Monster Reborn!" With a flash, Monster Reborn appeared on the Field as Yugi smiled and said "Perfect timing! Because I activate my Counter Trap Card! Solemn Judgment!" Raising his arm forward, Yugi's card flipped up to show the image of a god with a long white beard and hair, bright white robes, and raising his arm forward, two blonde haired angels next to him in the back. This was what Yugi waited for, a chance to use Solemn Judgment's effect and stop Mary in her tracks! He could have waited, but the Duel was almost done, so now was a good time to take a risk of using it!

SOLEMN JUDGMENT  
Counter Trap Card  
Effect: Pay half of your Life Points when your opponent either activates a Magic or Trap Card or summons a Monster to negate the action and destroy the card involved.

Suddenly, the god and the angels on the card art of Solemn Judgment appeared, as the god raised his hand, shattering Monster Reborn before Mary could Special Summon back Lovely Daisy. Mary gasped as she thought 'Oh, no! Yugi-chan's won!... I... I don't have anything in my hand to counter with!'

Yugi exhaled, his Life Points now at 1200 as Mary then said "I end my turn."  
Yugi looked at her and said "My turn. Draw." He drew his next card, then said "Black Luster Soldier! Attack Mary's Life Points directly!"

Black Luster Soldier leapt into the air, then came down towards the earth, light wrapped around his sword as Yugi said "Neo Chaos Blade!" With the slamming of his blade, a blast of light shot forward at Mary, as she closed her eyes, had her arms extended from her body, then received the attack, 3000 points worth, her 1200 Life Points dropped to 0 in that blow. Yugi exhaled, as the Duel Monsters he had in play disappeared, and he rushed to Mary.

"Are you OK?"  
Mary looked at Yugi then said "Yeah, I'm alright, Yugi-cha... I mean, Yugi. I'm sorry about all of this... I just... well..."  
"What, Mary? Why did you want to do this?" Yugi asked, as Téa, Taro, and Melody walked up, Taro nodding. "Yeah! I mean, wanting Yugi to be your fianceé seems a tad extreme when you think about it! Those are some odd stipulations for a Duel!"

"I did it perhaps because I felt desperate! I just... wanted to have such an honor as being the Queen of Duelists... so if I had beaten the King, Yugi, and made him my fianceé, that'd have made me his Queen, since I could have made him happy. If you hate me, I understand, Yugi... what I did today was a bit dishonest..."

Yugi smiled as he said "Yeah, but you are a nice person, Mary. I could always use more friends if you don't mind! And you are quite strong as a Duelist! You had me on the ropes there at times, and I had fun! That's all that matters to me."

Mary smiled at this and said "Yugi..." She then sniffled, wiping a tear from her eye. "Thank you."  
"Yugi...?" Téa said softly, her right hand rubbing her left arm as Yugi turned to her. "Hmm? What's up, Téa?"

"I... what I said earlier was true. I may have liked Atem, but I guess because he was like you, just courageous. But the things you've done... those have taken real courage too... deep down, I did wish you might have been gone... but once I saw that occur, I hated myself because of it, because I missed you. But... I just am glad you're still yourself!" Téa then knelt down and hugged Yugi, who just stood there, cheeks red, looking at her as she hung onto him. Taro playfully rubbed his nose, while Melody smiled, and Mary looked at them. 'This Téa girl... could she be...? Is she Yugi's...?'

But at this time, Yugi and company were just wondering about the scene in front of them... as now... another battle was done, and a new friend was made. Yugi was seeing that Duel Monsters was meant to be this way; having fun against your opponents, then making friends out of them. All in all, the key to the game was trust and respect, both of which Yugi showed greatly as he still sought to prove himself worthy to be Atem's successor, as well as to find his own ideals of a True Duelist... so he could grow truly.

-To Be Continued...-


	9. Chapter 9Hot Blooded Duel In A Chinese R

Hot Blooded Duel In A Chinese Restaurant! The Cook's Odd Strategies

The Chenmen Restaurant, one of the hottest Chinese-themed restaurants in all of Domino City, was especially busy today, on a Saturday, and that's because Lee Seiron was working the woks that day! Due to his decision to stay in Japan, partially because he liked it and he could train there, but also because he didn't have money to get home to Hong Kong, he had come aboard at Chenmen to earn some money. He smiled as he worked the woks furiously, flipping and tossing chicken, spring peas, snowpeas, bell peppers, and garlic as he whistled happily.

Yugi, Taro, Suki, and Solomon had gone to the Chenmen Restaurant to have a nice lunch, as well as the fact that Yugi wanted to see Lee in action since he had heard some word from school about this.  
"Hey! I see Lee!" Taro spoke up, his hand over his eyebrow so he could get a better look over the large crowd of people. Yugi smiled at this and nodded. "I see him too. Man, he is good!"  
"Oh, this reminds me of when I was in Hong Kong! They do this kind of show so often with a wok that it is amazing!" Solomon replied. Suki giggled and said "Oh, Dad. You can be so silly sometimes. I do wish Yuu was here with us."  
"Yeah! How long has it been off the top of your head since I saw Uncle Yuu, Yugi?" Taro asked his cousin, standing right next to him.  
"I don't know. Dad's been away on business for a while now... I wonder what's taking him so long." Yugi said, looking a bit nostalgic.  
Carrying out some plates to tables, Lee looked over and was surprised for a moment! "Yugi! Taro! What are you guys doing here!"  
"Getting some lunch, Lee-man!" Taro grinned. "Need an assist?"  
"Naw, I got it covered. Listen, there should be a table available. Grab it fast, 'cause they're going like dim sum trays!" Quickly, but carefully, Lee then moved towards the table he was waiting, as the Mutohs all grabbed their table as fast as they could.

Looking in the back, however, was the head chef of the Chenmen Restaurant, Head Chef, Chen. He gently adjusted his chef's hat, with his white uniform on, arms crossed as he glared at Lee, as Lee began chatting up with some of the customers, laughing as he did. Chen then said to himself 'That damn brat. He's making me look bad in my own restaurant. How dare he! He's just some punk from Hong Kong, and I am the head chef. But I at least know something... I want to give our audience a show soon... so I think I will take this punk on.'

"Thank you, thank you. No, you folks enjoy your meals! I'll give your compliments to all the guys in back!" Lee chuckled, as he walked backwards, rubbing his head as he then bumped into something and blinked. He turned and said "Mr. Chen! Uh... what's happening, sir?"  
"I want to have a word with you, Lee."  
"About...?"  
"Plenty. One thing is for sure, I don't need an upstart from Hong Kong impressing the customers more than I do so, Lee. I'll give you a choice. You can leave gracefully, now, or I send you out on your butt! Which will it be?"

"Neither, sir. See, I like this place, and you hired me, knowing full well my skills since I've worked in restaurants in Hong Kong before. So I don't see why I should leave when I've done nothing wrong except possibly hurt your ego?"

Chen had felt that comment hit him like a ton of bricks, as he then punched Lee across the cheek as everyone in the restaurant turned in surprise. Lee had turned just right, but that still hurt him.  
"Fine! You don't want to leave? Let's do this! We're gonna put on a show for the folks, Lee! But it won't be with woks, it'll be with Duel Disks!"  
Lee blinked after wiping the blood from his lip. "Say what? I didn't suspect a guy like you to play Duel Monsters."  
Chen smirked and turned his back to Lee. "Tell one of the others to get the tables set up... at least two. We're Dueling on them..."

After some time, getting things set up, as well as Lee and Chen getting their Duel Disks set up, every patron in the restaurant looked on in surprise. Yugi blinked and said "I didn't see this coming! And who knew that a chef could play Duel Monsters also! This is going to be one of the weirdest things of all."

"Hey, it's not that odd, Yugi." Taro replied, arms behind his head. "I've heard of a guy who uses a Deck centered around Tennis in another part of Japan... but they are just rumors after all!"

Solomon chuckled as he looked on. "I'd like to see Lee's true skill. I sadly never got to see his Duel with you, Yugi, so seeing him Duel here will be good."

"Yeah, I hope!" Yugi replied.

Suki looked on and said "This Lee fellow is a friend to you and Taro, Yugi?"

"He's all the way from Hong Kong, and came here to Duel against me, Mom. But now we are friends." Yugi smiled at his mother, then turned back to the Duel.

Lee raised his arm up, the same arm that had his Duel Disk on and said "Ready when you are, Mr. Chen." He then slapped his Deck into his Duel Disk as Chen smiled and did the same, all of the sous-chefs from the back and customers, including Yugi, Taro, Suki, and Solomon, all watched as Lee and Chen both said "DUEL!"

"My turn! Draw!" Lee said, drawing his sixth card. He looked over his whole hand carefully, figuring out what he wanted to lead off with. He then made his choice, grabbing his Monster of choice and saying "I summon Master Kyonshee in Attack Mode!"

A Monster with a blue long coat-tailed Mandarin shirt, and yellow Mandarin pants appeared, with this Monster having light blue skin with long pinkish-red fingernails, a blue Chinese hat, a black ponytail, and a slip of paper on its' face with a Chinese character written in blood red ink. The Monster had its' arms out, as if it were a zombie... and literally, it was!

MASTER KYONSHEE  
Earth/Zombie/4/1750 ATK/1000 DEF

"Next, I'll set a card face-down, and end my turn." Lee replied, his Duel Monsters card appearing behind Master Kyonshee. "Let's see what you can do about this, chef!"  
"Very well." Chen drew his own card, looking at his full size hand for ideas. He then took a card and smiled. "I play Burger Chef in Attack Mode!"

The unusual Monster that Chen summoned had a griddle locked onto where his right hand would be, and had a red chef's hair on as well as a black jumpsuit, with the symbol for "Cook" on the upper right pectoral of his chef's uniform as the pink-skinned pig like creature cackled.

BURGER CHEF  
Earth/Warrior/3/900 ATK/0 DEF  
Effect: This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly. When this card uses this effect, it is changed to Defense Mode and its' battle position cannot be changed during your next turn.

"Burger Chef, invoke your effect and attack his Life Points directly!" Chen shouted, with Burger Chef nodding, as he slapped down a hamburger patty onto its' griddle arm, cooking the patty until it was black and hard as charcoal, then shot it forward, smashing Lee, and dropping his Life Points from 8000 to 7100 in one shot! Lee coughed a bit and said "OK, now that I didn't suspect coming! What was that all about?"

"Simple. Burger Chef can attack your Life Points directly, but then it goes to Defense Mode once I'm done." Burger Chef turned then kneeled down, smirking. Chen then took a card from his hand and said "I will next play the Magic Card, Elegant Dining Table!"

Suddenly, below Lee and Chen's feet, a large table with candles set up as well as fancy glasses and plates appeared as Chen smiled. "Elegant Dining Table is a simple Magic Card. As long as it's on the Field, I can pay 400 Life Points to add 1 card to my hand from my Deck. But if I do so, you get to draw 1 card! And if I get out another Monster of mine with 'Chef' in its' card name, Normal, Flip, or Special Summon, while it's in play, I can discard 1 card of yours to the Graveyard."

ELEGANT DINING TABLE  
Permanent Magic Card  
Effect: Only one copy of this card can exist on the Field at a time. As long as this card is face-up on the Field, at the cost of 400 Life Points, you can add 1 card from your Deck to your hand, but if you do so, your opponent draws 1 card. If you Normal Summon, Flip Summon, or Special Summon a Monster that has "Chef" in its' card name, discard 1 card of your opponent's in his/her hand to the Graveyard. When this card is destroyed while on the Field, every card on your side of the Field is removed from play.

"Next, I'll set a card down and end my turn." Chen just smirked then said to himself 'You won't last that long, kid! As soon as I get my set card in play, I'll screw you over with my card's own effect!'  
"My turn!" Lee drew his next card and smiled, seeing he got Chu-ske the Mouse Fighter, a creature with a Bruce Lee-like appearance, save for he was a rat (well, techically a mouse)!

CHU-SKE THE MOUSE FIGHTER  
Earth/Beast/3/1200 ATK/0 DEF

"I summon Chu-ske the Mouse Fighter in Attack Mode!" Chu-ske flipped down next to Master Kyonshee, punching and kicking at the air as he then said "Aooooowwwwwwaaaa..." much like Bruce Lee might have done if he were alive. Lee followed up his move, by thrusting his arm forward and smiled.

"You made one mistake when you play your Burger Chef! My set card is handy for Monsters with weak Defense, so I'm gonna make you pay for your earlier move of punching me ungraciously, Chef Chen! Trap Card! Meteorain!"  
Yugi smiled as he said "Alright, Lee! Good move! This should give him a big lead!"  
"Yeah! Kick his ungrateful ass, Lee!" Taro shouted out, his hands over the sides of his mouth. Lee looked to his friends, gave them a thumbs up, then smiled. "OK! Chu-ske, attack Burger Chef, now!"

Chu-ske pulled back, then charged, kicking Burger Chef hard in the chest, destroying him, and inflicting 1200 points of Battle Damage to Chen's Life Points, dropping him from 8000 to 6800 in one shot! Chen glared as Lee then continued his Battle Phase. "Master Kyonshee! You're on now! Hit him with a direct attack!"

Master Kyonshee leapt over towards Chen then kicked him hard in the gut, dropping his Life Points by 1750 points to 5050 in one shot. Chen coughed and gritted his teeth as he pushed his somewhat portly body up, then stroked his beard. Lee then pointed at Chen and said "You made a mistake playing me at my own game, Mr. Chen. And besides, I figured you'd be happy about me working at Chenmen since I managed to pull in the most customers so far!"

"Feh. I just am not in the mood to be upstaged by a kid. I figured you'd not have had the skills to at least work so well here! I figured you'd screw up on day one, but I guess I pay the price for messing that one up! So, I'll fire you once I beat you! Then the only one I can worry about beating is myself as I improve!"

Lee sweatdropped, his eyes slightly narrowed as he said "OK, you really, REALLY have some delusions of grandeur, mister! What's the point of getting better if you aren't gonna lose to someone else? That's what it's all about! You get better by losing to others so you can push yourself even further than before! That's how I was when I started out! In everything I did; Duel Monsters, martial arts, school, cooking, taking care of my brothers while Mom was at work... I screwed up at first, found out I had to grow due to someone better bein' out there! And I'm gonna kick your patookie all over the floor to get you to see that! So for now, I end my turn."

"Fine. You don't get it. The only competition one has is themselves! My turn!" Chen drew his next card and then said "I will now invoke the effect of my Elegant Dining Table, and add 1 card from my Deck to my hand!" Chen yanked his Deck out of his Duel Disk, then pulled out a Magic Card... Setting the Table. "And as you know, you get to draw a card."

SETTING THE TABLE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: When this card is activated, add 1 Monster with "Chef" in its' card name or that is named "The Bistro Butcher" and 1 copy of "Clearing the Table" from your Deck to your hand. Your Deck is then shuffled. After this, your opponent gets to set 1 Magic or Trap Card face-down from their hand.

Lee drew a card, a bit confused by why Chen let him draw a card. Chen then smirked, and said "TRAP CARD, ACTIVATE! APPROPRIATE!" Chen slammed his foot on the table, as Appropriate flipped face-up. Lee's eyes widened, now coming to realize why Chen set this up; to strengthen his hand size.  
Chen drew 2 cards quickly, smiling with his hand size now being at 6 cards once more thanks to Elegant Dining Table and Appropriate! But of course, his Life Points were now 4650 due to the cost for Elegant Dining Table's effect.

"Next, I play Setting the Table!" Suddenly, Lee looked about as suddenly, hundreds of chefs and waiters appeared, setting plates and such onto the Elegant Dining Table, and Chen added 2 cards to his hand. "Now, I have the effect in play! I get to add 1 Monster with 'Chef' in the card name or Bistro Butcher to my hand, and one copy of Clearing the Table! Now, I play Bistro Butcher in Attack Mode! But... you get to set a card face-down from your hand if you wish..."

Lee nodded, then took Negate Attack, setting it down as he smiled. "There."

Chen's summon produced a blue skinned demon with a hook where his left hand should have been, a butcher's knife in the right hand, and red chef's gear, save for black shoes. He took his knife and licked it, cackling as he did.

THE BISTRO BUTCHER  
Dark/Demon/4/1800 ATK/1000 DEF  
Effect: When this card inflicts Battle Damage on your opponent's Life Points, he/she must draw 2 cards.

"Bistro Butcher, attack!" Chen cried out fiercely, as Bistro Butcher charged at Chu-ske. Lee then said "Trap Card, activate! Negate Attack!" Bistro Butcher stopped inches in front of Chu-ske, as Lee exhaled and said "You helped me out with that, Mr. Chen, so I appreciate you playing Setting The Table!"  
"Feh. No problem. I'll just place a card face-down and end my turn!"

Lee then drew his next card and looked at his hand. He wondered what he could do... since Pot of Greed was in his hand and he wanted to use it. But with Appropriate, Chen would draw. But then Lee smiled and nodded. "I play Pot of Greed!"

"What! Is Lee crazy? If he uses..." Taro stopped himself and said "Yugi, you think he's...?"  
"Yeah. He's gonna try to do it..."  
Suki blinked at this, still not completely understanding Duel Monsters as she said "Yugi, honey, what is Lee attempting?"  
"Well, Mom, you see, one way to win in Duel Monsters is decking out a person so they can't draw. What Lee's gonna try is to see if he can draw so many times that Chen gets too many cards and loses his whole Deck... let's just hope he can do it."

Lee drew his two cards, then Chen scoffed, drawing 4 cards in response. Lee now had 6 cards in his hand, and Chen had 10. Lee saw no other card drawing cards but he saw a stronger Monster to use. He nodded and said "I will now sacrifice Master Kyonshee and Chu-ske the Mouse Fighter to summon forth Monkey Fist in Attack Mode!"

Lee's summon began with Master Kyonshee and Chu-ske the Mouse Fighter disappearing in orbs of light, but then a monkey humanoid appeared on the Field, tape around its' wrists and ankles, with the achille's heel showing for both feet, as well as black mandarin pants as it slashed its' tail across the air and landed down in front of Lee. Believe it or not.. this was a Warrior-Type Monster!

MONKEY FIST  
Earth/Warrior/8/2500 ATK/2200 DEF  
Effect: When this card attacks with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of a Defense Mode Monster on your opponent's side of the Field, inflict the difference as Battle Damage.

"And next, I play the Equip Magic Card, Elemental Punch - Water Fist on my Monster!"  
Soon, Monkey Fist's hands began to glow with water around them as he punched the air, splashing water across the arena.

ELEMENTAL PUNCH - WATER FIST  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: This card can only be equipped to Warrior-Type Monsters. Increase the Equipped Monster's ATK by 600 points. When a Monster equipped with this card destroys a Monster as a result of Battle, you can draw 2 cards from your Deck, then place 1 card in your hand at the bottom of your Deck.

Solomon looked on and smiled. "So I see... Lee's going to use Water Fist's effect to aid him in an attempt to Deck out Chen."  
"What's that card do, Grandpa?" Taro asked, scratching his head.  
Solomon chuckled. "For only Warriors can use this card... but when it destroys a Monster as a result of Battle, you draw 2 cards, then return 1 card in your hand to the bottom of your Deck. That will aid Lee there... I can just tell."

"Monkey Fist! Attack Bistro Butcher!" Monkey Fist heard Lee's call, then let out a whoop, like a monkey then charged, slamming his fist hard into Bistro Butcher, destroying it, as well as inflicting 1300 points of Direct Damage to Chen's Life Points, dropping him to 3350. Lee smiled as he said "And now, I get to draw 2 cards!" Lee drew 2 cards as Chen waved his finger. "Well, now I get to draw 4 thanks to Appropriate."

Lee had his two cards in hand, now being at 7 cards, as Chen now had 14 cards, as Chen smiled, seeing he had a card that helped him. He knew the weakness and bane of his Deck, which was he could run out of cards and dump them to the Graveyard... but with Infinite Cards, one of the cards he had drawn, he'd not have to worry.

INFINITE CARDS  
Permanent Magic Card  
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the Field, there is no limit to the number of cards in either player's hand.

Lee took one of his Monsters, Sumo Fist, and placed it at the bottom of his Deck as he said "And now, I just did what had to be done, and that's place a card at the bottom of my Deck thanks to Water Fist's effect. Now I will set a card and end my turn."

"Heh. My turn." Chen drew his 15th card, knowing how ludicrous this was getting. He then took Clearing the Table and said "I will now play the Magic Card, Clearing the Table!"

CLEARING THE TABLE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Destroy all cards on the Field except for Monster Cards with "Chef" in their card name and inflict 1000 points of Direct Damage to both players.

"Say bye-bye!" Suddenly, all of the cards on the Field exploded as Lee cried out, Chen's cards all gone now as Chen stood there, his Life Points at 2350, and Lee's at 6100. Chen then took Infinite Cards from his hand and played it. "Infinite Cards will be my next card! This will allow me to easily avoid discarding now! Next... I play Painful Choice!"  
"Painful Choice...?" Lee blinked in surprise as Chen smiled, pulling out his small Deck, then pulled out 5 cards, all of them floating in front of Lee.

PAINFUL CHOICE  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Select 5 cards from your Deck and show them to your opponent. Your opponent must select one card that will be added to your hand. Discard the remaining cards to the Graveyard.

Lee looked at all of the cards, then picked the middle card, as Chen added one copy of Dinner is Served to his hand, placing all of his other picks into the Graveyard. But he was satisfied, 2 more copies of Dinner is Served now resting in his Graveyard.

DINNER IS SERVED  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Increase your Life Points by 1000 points, plus an additional 500 points for each copy of "Dinner is Served" that exists in your Graveyard.

"I will now play Dinner is Served. With this, I gain 1000 Life Points plus 500 more for each copy of Dinner is Served in my Graveyard. I will thus gain 2000 Life Points." Chen smiled at this action, his Life Points now at 4350 thanks to Dinner is Served.

Chen then took another card of his and said "Next, I play Monster Reborn! Come back to me, Burger Chef!"  
Burger Chef then appeared on the Field, as Chen took another card from his hand and said "Now, I will play Hamburger Recipe!"

Suddenly, a pan appeared in front of Burger Chef as he grabbed it. Chen then took 2 cards from his hand and said "Next, I will send my 2 Goblin Chefs to the Graveyard, both equalling Level 6!"

HAMBURGER RECIPE  
Ritual Magic Card  
Effect: This card is used to Ritual Summon "Hungry Burger". You must also offer Monsters whose Star Levels equal 6 or more as a Sacrifice from the Field or your hand.

GOBLIN CHEF  
Dark/Demon/3/800 ATK/800 DEF  
Effect: If this card exists in your Graveyard, discard 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon this card from the Graveyard.

In a flash, two small green-skinned goblins in red aprons appeared on the Field, disappearing into the pan, as now, Chen had 7 cards in hand as he pulled out his next card and said "And now I Special Summon Hungry Burger in Attack Mode!"

The Ritual Monster that Chen summoned looked to be an average hamburger, BUT this one had sharp teeth on the buns, and a kind of triangular shape with a red dot on the top bun as it snapped its' teeth at Lee.

HUNGRY BURGER  
Dark/Warrior-Ritual/6/2000 ATK/1850 DEF  
Effect: This Monster can only first be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Magic Card, "Hamburger Recipe". You must also offer Monsters whose total Star Levels equal 6 or more as a Sacrifice from the Field or your hand.

"Now, I will send two cards to the Graveyard and Special Summon back my two Goblin Chefs!"  
Soon enough, Chen's Goblin Chefs retook the Field, landing next to Hungry Burger. All together, Chen's Monsters had a combined ATK of 4500 points. Lee gulped as then Chen thrusted his arm forward. "All my Monsters! Attack!"

Suddenly, the Goblin Chefs fired a stream of fire outward, Burger Chef shot a brick-like hamburger forward, and Hungry Burger charged, all attacks smashing Lee, and dropping his Life Points to 1600 points. Next, with only a few cards left, Chen said "I will next set two cards face-down and end my turn."

'Heh. With Check Please! and Time To Eat, I'll win in a heartbeat! You've lost, brat! No way can anyone stop the invincible Chen Sechin!'

TIME TO EAT  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: For each copy of "Dinner is Served" that you remove from play in the Graveyard, destroy a number of cards on the Field.

CHECK PLEASE!  
Normal Trap Card  
Effect: Depending on which Attribute of Monster you have first on the Field then offer as a Sacrifice, activate and resolve one of the following effects;  
EARTH - Draw 1 card.  
FIRE - Destroy 1 face-down Magic or Trap Card on your opponent's side of the Field.  
WIND - Discard 1 card from your hand to inflict 500 points of Direct Damage to your opponent.  
WATER - Add 1 "Poisonous Ice Water" from your Deck to your hand.  
LIGHT - Add 1 Monster Card with "Chef" in its' card name to your hand.  
DARK - Discard your hand to inflict 200 points of Direct Damage for each card discarded this way.

"Now... it's my turn." Lee drew his next card, now having drawn 6 cards. He smiled as he then said, pointing to his set card. "Activate Magic Card! Giant Trunade! As you know, with Giant Trunade, all Magic and Trap Cards on the Field will be returned to our hands! But since my Giant Trunade was set face-down, no worries for me!"

A giant hurricane blasted around the Field as Yugi smiled. "Alright! Lee's got a good chance! Let's see what he can do!"  
Lee looked at his drawn card and showed it to Lee. "Next up, I play Graceful Charity!" Lee drew 3 cards, now at 8 cards, then took Moon Envoy from his hand, as well as Legendary Fighter - Wu Shu. He looked at his 6 new cards, then raised up his next card and said "And now I play The Warrior Returning Alive, and I will add Moon Envoy from my Graveyard to my hand!"

Lee then took Moon Envoy from his Graveyard slot and slapped him down onto his Duel Disk as he said "And now I play Moon Envoy in Attack Mode!"  
Moon Envoy flipped in the air, slashing it with his crescent moon pike, while he wore Chinese blue and yellow armor and boots with white pants. He landed down and looked over at Chen.

MOON ENVOY  
Light/Warrior/4/1100 ATK/1000 DEF

"What can you do with that? Its' ATK is only 1100! The most you could destroy is a Goblin Chef or Burger Chef! It doesn't seem like you have much choice!"

"Ohhhh... I do. Check this out, Chen! I play the Magic Card, Light Shattering The Darkness!"

LIGHT SHATTERING THE DARKNESS  
Quickplay Magic Card  
Effect: Offer 1 face-up "Moon Envoy" on your side of the Field as a Sacrifice in order to Special Summon 1 "Dragon Man The Protector of the Great Wall" from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard.

Suddenly, light wrapped around Moon Envoy, and then shattered, as he stood strong, with dragon-like armor on and a bigger build, with much added height, his pike replaced by a long sword with a crescent moon shaped handle as Lee said "Meet my favorite card! Dragon Man the Protecter of the Great Wall! In Attack Mode!"  
Yugi, Taro, Suki, Solomon, and everyone looking on were all impressed by the elegance which Dragon Man had, as he slashed the air with his sword, landing down in front of Lee. Lee's hand now just had Equip Magic Cards... all of which he could use to end this.

DRAGON MAN THE PROTECTOR OF THE GREAT WALL  
Light/Warrior/8/2800 ATK/2400 DEF  
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card must be Special Summoned first by offering a face-up "Moon Envoy" to the effect of "Light Shattering The Darkness". While this card is face-up on the Field, you can discard 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard in order to destroy all Magic Cards and Trap Cards on both sides of the Field.

"Now... time for a group of Magic Cards 3 Equip Magic Cards to start! First up! Fuu-Rai-Ken!" Soon, Dragon Man grasped a Chinese-style sword, with orbs in the blade, his ATK now at 3200 thanks to this Magic Card.

FUU-RAI-KEN  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: This card can only be equipped to Warrior-Type Monsters. Increase the ATK of the Equipped Monster by 300 points. Also, the Equipped Monster can attack once more in a row with its' ATK reduced in half.

"And next up! Big Bang Shot!" Dragon Man softly began to glow, his ATK now up to 3600 thanks to Big Bang Shot, which gave Lee a bigger edge due to its' effect. But he had to be careful, but since Chen's field was cleared, he may have had an easier chance to use it.

BIG BANG SHOT  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: A Monster equipped with this card increases its' ATK by 400 points. When the equipped Monster attacks with an ATK that is higher than the DEF of your opponent's Defense Mode Monster, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points. When this card is destroyed or removed from the Field, the equipped Monster is removed from play.

"And lastly! I play Elemental Punch - Fire Fist!" And lastly, Dragon Man's fist began to ignite with fire, his ATK upped to 4200, and leaving Lee with one last card to use in his hand.

ELEMENTAL PUNCH - FIRE FIST  
Equip Magic Card  
Effect: This card can only be equipped to Warrior-Type Monsters. Increase the Equipped Monster's ATK by 600 points.

"Ha! It's only 4200, so what would it help if you can't deal bad damage to me!" Chen smirked.  
Lee smiled and said "I'm just having fun with this Duel, Mr. Chen. And now I'm gonna end it! Magic Card! Pump Up!"  
Suddenly, Dragon Man began to glow, as his ATK was doubled... to a whopping 8400! And now... Lee smiled and said "And that is all of my hand!"

PUMP UP  
Normal Magic Card  
Effect: Double the ATK of 1 Monster on your side of the Field until the End Phase of this turn.

"8-8-8-8400 ATK! Oh, no!" Chen shuttered as Lee then thrusted his arm forward. "DRAGON MAN! Attack Goblin Chef!"  
Dragon Man exploded forward, then cried out, splitting one of Chen's Goblin Chefs, dealing a whopping 7600 Life Points damage, and beating Chen! Chen looked in shock, dropping his cards as he said "I... I lost... I've never lost before... what do I do now?"

Lee smiled then extended his hand. "You try to get better. See, that's what I learned... you should try to do your best work in the kitchen. I'm good, but I always need some good experience, Mr. Chen... if you want me to still stay on."  
Chen looked in surprise at Lee, but then took his hand and smiled as everyone in the restaurant clapped their hands at the Duel, as well as for a great show. Chen then said "OK! Let us get your meals ready, folks!"

After everything was done, Yugi, Taro, Suki, Solomon and Lee all walked out from the restaurant as Yugi said "So, you took something from our Duel, huh, Lee?"  
"Yes, I did, Yugi. I remember how you said you play for fun. I myself now know what it is like to do that too. All in all... I like it."  
Suki smiled and said "At least you did well and kept your cool, Lee."  
"Thanks, Mrs. Mutoh. Hey, tell you what... to make up for lunch, why don't I come over and make dinner? My treat!"  
Taro nodded and said "As long as you make a big helping bowl of noodles, I'll be happy!"  
Yugi laughed at this and nodded. "That does sound great!"  
Lee smiled, as he walked with his friends and their family, seeing that the simplest joy for himself... was not to win or be the best, but to make others around him feel good. And with the Mutohs, he had managed to do that.

However... in the Domino Airport, a private plane landed, and Sarah Ashcroft, the leader of the Card Hunters, along with Mark, and another one, a redheaded young man with a black duster and sunglasses appeared, stepping off the plane... as if something was being set up now.

-To Be Continued...-


End file.
